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i
AN INTERPRETATION __
OF
ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
BY
CHANDRA CHAKRABERTY
PUBLISHED BY
HAMCHANDRA CHAKRABERTY, M.A.
58, Cornwallis Street, Calcutta
I All rights reserved.
' 1923.
PRINTED BX
Prafulla Kumar Chatterjee
AT THE BENGAL PRINTERS LIMITED-
66, Maniktala Street, Calcutta,
\ 3 tf
lTbrarv
736211-
UNIVERSITY0r[OS0i£r0_
3
TO
SRIJUKTA LAKSHMIKANTA CHAKRABERTY
THIS BOOK 18 AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
/
y
r
< •
V
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
1. Food and Health
2. Principles of Education
3. Dyspepsia and Diabetes
4. A Comparative Hindu Materia Medica
5. A Study in Hindu Social Polity
6. Endocrin Glands
7. National Problems
8. Infant Feeding and Hygiene
TO BE HAD OF
LUZAC & Co. E. LE FRANCOIS
46, Great Russell Street, Librarie Medical et
London W. C. Scientifique,
9-10, Rue Casimir-Delavigno,
Paris (Vie)
JOSFPH BAER & Co.
Buchhandlung und
Antifluariat,
6, Hochstrasse,
"Fr^ikfurt a. M.
OTTO HARRASSOWITZ
Buchhandler und
Antiquar,
Leipzig.
THE ORIENTALIA.
New York City.
CONTENTS.
Chapter
I. — Anatomy
(a) Osteology
(b) Arthrology
(c) Myology
(d) The Vascular System •
II. — Thysiology
(a) Digestion
(b) Circulation
(c) The Nervous System •
III. — PatJidlogy
(a) Constitutional Pathogenesis
(b) Mechanical Pathogenesis
(c) Infections
IV. — Diseases and their Diagnosis
V. — Diseases and their Clinical Studies
(a) Fevers
(b) Diarrhoea
(c) Diabetes
(d) ^ Diseases of the Bladder
(e)v^ Diseases of the Mouth
(f) Tumors
(g) Skin Disease •••
(h) Diseases of the Genital Organs
( ii )
VI. — Therapeutics... ••• -v 429'
VII. — Surgery ••• ••♦ «.. 491
VIII. — Dietetics ••• ••• < ... 536
IX. — Hygiene ••• ••• .•• 568-
c
«
< •
\ Foreword
I started this Book with the idea of making-
it a comparative study of the ancient Hindu and
Greek systems of Medicine in the light of niodem
knowledge. But I soon realized that the Hindu
students for whom this book is chiefly intended,
would not be interested in the Greek Medicine,
and as there are excellent translations of the works
of Hippocrates,^!: I live confined myself to the in-
terpretation of the Ancient Hindu Medicinealonu.
I was forced to the conclusion that the Ancient
Greek Schools of Medicine were indebted to the
Hindu Systems for the following reasons : — (1)
Indigenous Indian drugs are found in the works
of JlippoGrates as (a) Kardamomon from Sk.
^kardama* ( cardamon ) as an emmenagogue in
* I. E. Littre : Oevres Complete D' Hippocrate
>
( Text and translation ) 10 Vols. J. B. Bailier et Fils,
Paris, 1'839-1861. I have used this edition for my
reference.
2/ Robert Fuchs : Hippokrates Sammtliche
Werke, 3 Vols. Miinchen, 1895-1900.
3. F. Adams : Genuine Works of Hippocrates
( partial ), Sydenham Society.
( iv )
Tol. VII. p 358 ; in dyspnea in Vol. VIII. p.
80 ; (b) Amomon from Sk. ^eW ( Elettaria
cardamomum ) as an emmenagogue in Voi. VII.
p. 358 ; (c) Feperi from Sk. 'pippaW ( Piper
longum ) as an expectorant, mixed with honey-
water in Vol. II. p. 464 ; in nasal catarrh in
Vol. V. p. 183 ; in gingivitis in Vol. V. p. 244 ;
as an errhine in Vol. V. p. 328 ; as a drink with
honey, vinegar and water in Vol. VII. p. 150 ;
with wine and oil in a pessary in Vol. VII. p.
364 ; in quartan fever in Vol. VIII. p. 654 ;
Dia-trion piperidon, from Sk. trikatu,^ a
preparation made from three species of ^Piper*
(nigrum, longum and album ) ; (d) Kinnamomos
from Sk. Hvak' (Cinnamomum zeylonacum) with
myrrha, and safran in fumigation in Vol. VII.
p. 372 ; simple fumigation in Vol. VIII. p. 364 ;
(e) Akof'os from Sk. 'vacha' ( Acorus colamus )
with myrrha as antiseptic injection in Vol. VII,
p. 368 ; made infusion with dry pomegranate
skin in wine for astringent injection in Vol. VIII,
p. 860 ; (f) Nardou from Sk. *jatmiiamsi^ .
(Nardostachys Valeriana) as antiseptic fujriigation
with cinnamon, myrrha and rose perfume in^VoI.
VII. p. 372 ; as an astringent antiseptic wasti in
lochia in Vol. VIII. p. 104 ; (g) Sesamon from
Sk. Hila^ ( Sesamum indicum ) as a vulnerary in
( V )
empyema — suppurative abscess in Vol. II. p. 518 ;
in the treatment of adiposis in Vol. VI. p, 76 ;.
as a plaster in long-standing catarrh in Vol. V. p.
432 ; as' a fattening food in Vol. VI, p. 258. ;.
as a nutritive food in Vol. VI. p. 544 ; as a
substitute for cheese in Vol. VII. p. 78 ; in
coughing of the children in Vol. VIII, 82 ; (h)
Ziggiberis from Sk. ^rngavercC ( Zingiber
officinale ) ; Kostos srom Sk. 'ktistha' ( Costus
speciosus ) ; Sakcharon from Sk. ^sarkara^
( Saccharum officinarum ) ; Pepereos riza from
Sk. *pippali'muW ( radix Piper longum ) ;
Kupeiros from Sk. 'mtistaka (Cyperus rotundus);'
BdelUon from Sk. *guggnla' ( Aquilaria
agallocha ) ; etc.
(2) Kumoral Fathology : In ^Feri Physios
Atithropoy' ( On the Nature of Man ) Vol. VI,
p. 32-69, Hippocrates advances arguments of
supeiiorty of the principles of the four humors
whose equilibrium in the body preserves the
normal health and whose derangements are the
etiological factors of disease, as the ^aima' (blood :
Sk. 'rndhira '), 'phlegma' ( phlegm : Sk. ^slesmaf
*chol(jn xanthen* ( yellow bile : Sk. 'pitta* ), and
*choJ/n melainam' ( black bile : as a substitute
for Sk. 'vayu' ), which he for the first time
introduced into Greece over the ancient doctrine
{ vi )
of *}iof ( from fire ) *colfV ( from earth ), 'dry*
( from air ) and ^moisf ( from water ) qualities
which were supposed to be the basic factors of
healtli and disease, and whicli he also argues in
his book 'Peri Archaies letriches' ( Ancient
Medicine), Vol. I. pp. 570-637. In his 'Ferl
Gones' ( Generation, 3 ), Vol. VII. p. 474, 'aima,
chole, udor, phlegma* are mentioned as the four
humors, using 'hile' without any qualifica-
tion, and ill the place of one, 'udor'' ( Sk.
ndaka = serous fluid ) is substituted, thus
proving that the humoi-al question was
still in transitional flux, and was not settled or
fixed. In ^Peri Chymon'' ( Humors, 8, 14 ), Vol.
V. p, 488, 496, seasonal changes are mentioned
to cause the increase and the decrease of the
humors, as the increase af the bile in the summer,
and thus organisms are predisposed to certain
diseases in particular seasons in which
their controling humors are predominant, in
a very strikingly similar language as described
in Susruta (I. 6) on ^rtu-charyya''. In 'Pery
Physios Anthropoy' (The Nature of Man, 7),
Vol. VI. p. 46, it is argued that 'yhlegxtia' is
dominant in the winter, for the reason that^m'an
conforms to the laws of nature, and as every-
thing is cold in the winter, and as pblegma is
( vii )
"the coldest of all the humors " in tactile
sensation, it naturally therefore is in excess
over ot^er humors ; in tlie spring, the blood
is dominant, as the phlegma is still strong,
owing to the plenty of rain and sap in the soil
and plant, but it becomes desiccated by the
warm sun ; in the summer, the blood is still
strong, but the bile is formed by the strong
sun, and the phlegma is in the minimum owing
to the hot, desiccant sun ; in the autumn the
blood is in the minimum, but the black bile is
formed in abundance, as the season is dry and
the nature tends to cool itself. In 'Peri Noyson
to Tetarton' (The fourth Book of Maladies, 33),
Vol. VII. p. 5i2, it is described how the humors
are in excess or in deficiency : *'I shall describe
now, how the bile, the blood, the "udrops*
(serons fluid) and the phlegma are in excess
or in deficiency ; it is through the food and the
drink, in this way : the full stomach is the
source of all things ; but when empty, it
profits at the cost of the body which it disin-
tegrates.'f, Moreover, there are other four
sources from which each of the humors can
come to the organs ; they come to the stomach,
and when the stomach is empty, they go to the
organs (superficial), but they come back, when.
( viii )
the stomach has something (ingesfca). The
source for the blood, is the heart, for the phleg-
ma — the brain, for the 'udrops' (serous /^fuid) —
the spleen, and for the bile, the part tlat is in
the liver (bile-duct)." And in the same book
(34 — 38), it is mentioned that as the plant can
select its food from the soil it needs, so each
humor can get its nourishment from all kinds of
food ; but phlegma is particularly increased by
the ingestion of cheese, acrid substance, or
phlegmatic food or drink ; the bile is increased.
by bitter food and drink, or bilious substance ;
^udrops' (serous fluid) is increased by the
water one drinks, and is pumped by the spleen
to itself and other parts of the body ; the blood
is increased by the bloody food one takes, and
which is attracted to all parts of the body, and
especially by the heart. As the disease is caused
by the excessive increment of one humor over
the rest, its cure lies in bringing out the coction
( paclicuia ) of the said humor, and cause its
evacuation and expulsion from the body ; ' the
crisis of a disease is the turning point .when the
coction of the deransred humor bes^ins. aiid the
coction produces the periods in fever ( Vol.\ I. p.
617 ; Vol. 11. p. 635 ; Vol. IV. p. 469 ; Vol. V.
p, 485 ; Vol. VIII. p. 651 ).
(3) India is dii^ectly mentioned in association
( ix )
loitJi some of the drugs : (a) "Echochchous eclilep-
santa oson treis mdichoy pharmachoij tou ton
opbthalmovn, o chaleetaipeperijCliai tou stroggyloy,
tna tauta leia tribein,cbai oinopalaio chliero dieis,
balanionperi pteron ornitbos titlienai,chai odeprosa-
gein."(Anotber : three decorticated grains, Indian
drug wbicb is for tbe eyes and is called 'pepper',
tbe round grain — tbese three are to be pounded
and moistened with warmed old wine, it is to be
pasted round a plum, and to be introduced thus
( as a pessary ). Gynaikeiioti JProton : ( Eemale
Diseases, 81 ; Vol. VIII. p. 202 ). (b) "E
ecblepsas chocbchous pentecbaidecha,esto de cbai
indichoy poson" ( Or rather decorticate fifteen
grains of Cnide, and add to it, tbe Indian
preparation ; ibid 158 ; Vol. VIII. p. 336 ). (c)
"Toyto to pharmachon odontas chathairei cbai
euodeas .poieei chaleetai de indichoii pharmachon.'*
( This preparation cleanses the teeth, and imparts
to them a fi.ne aroma ; it is called Indian prepara-
tion ; ibid 185 ; Vol. VIII. p. 366 ). (d) *'Eteron
prostheton ecblepsas chocbchous triechonta, to
indichoth o'ohaleousinoi Persai peperi." (Another
pessary .' thirty decorticated grains, and the
Indian substance which the Persians call 'pepper';
ibid 205 ; Vol. VIII. p. 394 ).
(4) Indirect Inference : Urine of cow
( X )
{go-mutra) is recommended as a therapeutic agent
in fistula, in Vol. VI. p, 453 ; as a disinfectant
wash for the female genitals and in s^rility in
Vol. VII. p. 365 ; in fumigation and lotion in
female diseases in Vol. VIII. p. 211. Cow-dung
( go-maya ) is recommended with aromatic sub-
stances as a fumigation in female diseases in Vol.
VIII. p. 119. ; bovine desiccated bile (go-rochana)
as a vulnerary preparation for wounds in Vol. VI.
p. 415 ; in a purgative compound in Vol. VI.
p. 419 ; in pessary with myrrh and honey in
Vol. VIII. p. 59,157,203,395 ; as a laxative drink
with wine in Vol. VII. p. 425. The cow being
regarded as the sacred animal of the Hindus, it
can be imagined that her excretory products may
be used in India as therapeutic agents, but their
use among the Greeks who had no such passions,
indicates their foreign importation.
It may be said that all the writings that are
now included in the Hippocratic Collection were
not the genuine works of Hippocrates (460 — 377
B. C. ). That may be so. We are not concerned
with that problem. It suffices for our purpose
to know that the Hindu thoughts influenced
deeply the Greek medical literature in the fifth
and the fourth century B. C. We do not yet
definitely know how the Medical science reached
( x! )
Hellas ; perhaps by the Persian intermediatories,
or dir^tetly by the Hindu settlers in the Persian
Empire. '\We know that in 606 B. C. the
Median king Cyaxares conquered Assyria and
annexed to it the territories up to the coasts in
Asia Minor where there were many Hellenic
settlers. Cyrus, ( 559 — 530 B. C. ) the great
Persian nation-builder, defeats Astyages and
conquers Media in 550 B, C, defeats Croesus, the
Lydian king, and captures Sardis in 547 B. C,
conquers Babylon and Greek cities of Asia Minor
in 546—539 B. C. His son Cambyses ( 529—
522 B. C. ) conquers Egypt in 527 B. C, by
defeating the Egyptian ruler Psammetichus III
or better known as Amasis, under whom were
numerous Ionian and Cartan mercenaries. The
empire of Darius I ( 522 — 486 B. C. ) extends
from Macedonia to the Indus, and from the
Danube and the Black Sea to Nubia; while in 512
B. C. Darius invaded Scythia, to subdue the
nomadic hordes, his general Megabazus reduced
Thrace, and a few years later penetrated up to
the river* ^ Peneus in Thessaly ; the lonians
revolte/d against the Persian domination, and with
the assistance of Athenians and Eretrians, burnt
Sardis in 499 B. C, which led to the Persian
invasion of Northern Greece in 492 B. C. under
( xii )
f
the generalship of Mardonius, and of Attica in
490 B. C, which ended with the defeat fl^f the
Persians at the battle of Marathon on S/^t. 12 —
490 B. C.
Siddhartha Gautama ( the Buddha 563 — 483
JB. C. ) entered into ^niroana' in 483 B. C. after
a strenuous life of may years' preaching. In
Mahavagga (1. 6 ; 1. 8 ) a very old Buddhist
work of the fifth century B. C, we find descrip-
tion of advanced medical treatment.
But the Hindu influence over Greece even
goes beyond that period. There is every reason to
believe that the Dionysos orgies were the import-
ed Soma-Siva cult from India. Dionysos is a
Moon-god like Soma. He introduced wine-culture
( and civilization ) into Hellas. The bull, the
goat and the serpent are sacred to him. And he
is represented like Siva, as accompanied by a
leopard, and in Alexandrian time,riding on' a tiger
{l^tiC2/c. Brit. Vol. VIII. p. 287). The Orphic reli-
gion seems to be no less indebted to the same
source. Abstinence from meat, fish etc., from ani-
mal sacrifices, the wearing of a special, garment,
the practice of austere asceticism, belief i% the
transmigration of soul, and the soul will attain
perfection, passing through various beings, and
when it attains it, it will be free from rebirth —
( xiii )
»
*the circle of generation' ( kyhlos geneseos ), as
the I5y)dy is the bondage of the soul ( Ency Brit.
Vol. XX. p, 328) — all these unmistakably indicate
pre-Buddhistic Indian origin, whei^e these doc-
trines have been indigenous, and are still
believed by the multitude. Arthur Lille in his
*Itama and Homer' argues that in the Ramay-
ana, Homer found his theme for his great epics
for the following reasons : (1) Like the two
inseparable brotliers in the Ramayana, llama
aTi'l Laksmana, in the story of Menelaus,
thor<' are also two inseparable Greek
brothers. (2) Rama and Laksmana liave been
banislied by the conspiracies of a stepmother
while the Greek brothers are banished from
Argos by their usurping uncle Tliyestes. (3)
Sita is born of a swan's e^^ ( Brahma's emblem )
in a furrow, Helen is also born from a swan's
egg left by her mother, Leda, the swan, and
Helen emerged from her egg in a 'yperwon'
which means a furrow. (4) At tlie ^svaymvnra'
Kama defeats all the competing princes, and
Slta ohooses him as her husband, and in Greece,
Men^laus is made to defeat all tiie competing
prir/ces, and wins Helen, though neither a
competing tournament for winning a bride,
nor the choosing of a husband (svai/amvara) was
( xiv )
customary in Greece, and tbey were time-
honored institutions in India. (5) "Whilst E^ma
is away, Sita is carried away to Laiika/across
the sea ; likewise Helen is carried away across
the sea to Troy. (6) Vibbtsana from a high
hill points out to Rama the principal warriors-
of the forces of RiLvana ; Helen points out to
Priam tiie chief Greek captains, after nine
years of war and who came to rescue her. (7)
The arrows of E,avana and the arrows of Hector
come back to their hand after their flight. (8)
As Hanuman with a mighty shout daunts the
whole of the army of Ravana, so Achilles with
a mighty shout daunts the whole of the Trojan
army. (9) The heavens rain blood as an omen
of the coming death of Ravana, and when the
favorite son of Zeus, Sarpedon, is about to die,
Zeus and Hera see a shower of blood falling on
the battle-field. (10) The Hindu besiegers
fare badly in the early encounters and Kama
proposes to bring the army back to India ; the
Greek besiegers fare badly as well and
Agamemnon proposes to carry the army back
to Greece. (11) In the Ramayana the !lft,aksVsas
are depicted to be as big as mountains ; M^ rs,,
when thrown down by angry Pallus who flings
a rock at him. covers seven acres with his
( XV )
I
k
gigantic body. (12) In the Hindu epic, the
gods aM the demons gather round to watch the
crucial l)attles between the paramount
chiefs E-ama and Ravana ; in the Iliad, the
opposing gods also crowd round to watch the
course of the battle, though the chiefs are not
paramount, nor the encounter crucial. (13)
Kuvera, the god of wealth, and ^iva, the god of
death, throw dice ; in the Iliad, Jove suspends
golden scales. (14) When Sita makes her
determination to starve to death, Indra comes
down and gives her the *amrta* — the immortal
food ; when Achilles is of the same frame of
mind, though he was not a Avronged party, Jove
sends down Minerva with the ambrosia for him.
(15) Vibhisana is the wisest denizen in Lanka ;
Antenor has the same reputation in Troy.
When Havana is about to kill Hanuman, the
ambassador of Rama, Vibhisana remonstrates
and saves his life ; when Menelaus and Odysseus
came into Troy as ambassadors, they would have
been killed, but for the intervention of Antenor.
Vibhisana . advises Havana to give up Sita ;
Antenc^ advises Paris to give up Helen.
Vibhis'.Ana conspires against his country with
the enemy, shows the enemies how to pass the
sea, reveals the secrets of the ^chaitya^ of
( xvi )
Nikumbhila ;A.nteaor also plots secretly against
his own country, and advises Ulysses t6 seize
the Trojan Palladium, and make the 'wooden
horse. Vibhisana, after the death of his brother
and the capture of the city, becomes the crowned
king of Lauka ; Antenor founded a new
kingdom out of the ruins of the old. (l6) E/araa
is loaned by the supreme god, his chariot with
the celestial charioteer — Matali, and the
terrible missile ^Brahmasiras' which alone can
kill the ravish er of Sita, and the fiend of the
gods. Achilles, the avenging hero, not the
wronged husband, is given the coat of arms
from the anvils of Vulcan, the chariot with the
deathless steeds of Jove, and the charioteer
Automedon who alone can drive such steeds,
but he lacks the terrible * arrow of Fhiloctetes'
which alone can kill the ravisher of Helen, and
instead of killing the foe, he is himself killed by
that foe. (17) Inconsistency and the lack of unity
of the Homeric plot, and the invulnerable
logic and conclusion of Valmiki's story : cattle-
stealing and wife-stealing being ^ Mien the
prevailing custom in Hellas, and Helen^being
carried off by a fop, and not a fiend of the^gods,
it could hot have precipitated a war between
two peoples.
( xvii )
'JDhen the question arises as to the age of
Sus'r^^ta and Charaka Sarnhitas, and that is very-
hard to determine with any positive certainty.
All that we know is that the great Buddhist
scholar Nagarjjuna revised the old Sus'ruta, and
added to it the supplementary section ( uttara-
tantra ), IS agar jj una was a leading director
-of Kaniska's Council that was held about 78
A. D.. He salutes Susruta in the beginning of the
work ( Susniia I. I ) with Brahma, Prajapati,
the Asvins, Indra, and Dhanvantari. It must have
taken centuries to have made Susruta a mythical
figure, and to be classified with the gods. Charaka
Is mentioned in the Chinese Buddhist chronicles,
as the family-physician of the Indo-Scythian king
Kaniska ( about first century A. D. ), and who
attended at a difficult child-birth of his wife.
But Charaka is a family name, and there is an
old Tedic Charaka school, known as Kapisthala
Charaka (I. 1. 3). The internal evidence of both
"the works indicates . that they were composed in
pre-Buddhistic times, though there are numerous
interpolations of a later ase. The ' Sutra-sthana*
( Section of General Principles ) and the metri-
cal portions which are more or less explanatory,
seem to be later additions. Not only do the prose
versions resemble the Brahmanas in composition,
(• • • •
XVlll )
but all the gods also are post-Vedic, and the common
use of meat, especially beef ( Charaka I. 2./<18 ;
Susruta I. 46. 89 ), points out to apre-Buddhistic
age. The osteological nomenclature used in
Susruta is almost identical with that used in
Atharva Veda (X. 2 ), and in the Satapatha
Brahmana ( S. B. E. Vol. XLIV. p. 164 ). It is
possible that the sage Yajnavalkya whose name is
mentioned in the Brahmanas, and in association
with the King Janaka, the reputed teacher of the
'Vajasaneyi Samhita* ( the White Yajur-Veda),
and the Law-book is the same person, and he
lived about sixth century B. C. And the King
Janaka of Mithila might have been known as
^Kasi-raja* and Divodasa. It may be said that
the Hindu medical science could not make such
a rapid advancement from the primitive magic
charms and sorceries of the Atharva-Veda period,
which has been put at 1000 years B. C. It is
true that the ^Ayu?'veda' (medical science) claims
to be a branch of the Atharva-Veda, as the priest
is the successor of the magician, and the medi-
cine-man is a magician priest. But the Atharva
Veda contains many of the oldest superstitions
of the Indo-Dravidian masses, and they did 4iot
become embodied in the E/g-Veda, simply because
they represented the attitude of the masses rather
( xix )
=than that of the nobility. And whenP^ disease
hoary with age, they became entitlee^^^^^^^^y
and became admitted in the sacred booP^" more
It
raka is older than the Susruta, for in ^ ^^ ^^^^
description, physiological explanatior^®^^^^^
classification of subject-matter, in the i ^^ ^^
language and in the therapeutic techniqW;^ ic
represents a more ancient school. As there are
many passages that are common,it seems that they
were borrowed by the latter from the former.
In the following pages, I have tried to inter-
pret and explain the Ancient Sindu Medicine
principally based upon Charaka and Sus'ruta in
modern medical terminology. Translation is an
ungrateful task, especially of technical subjects,
written nearly twenty-five centuries ago, their
modes of expression being quite different from
those of the present age. However, I have
tried to be as careful and accurate as possible.
The translation could be much improved bv
transposition of words, or outstretching their
meanings. I have preferred accuracy to dic-
tion, ahfl I have often sacrificed, whenever it
has ^ been necessary, a good literary form, to
mai:e it as true to the original as possible and
to reflect its meaning.
Yet it is very likely that some of my inter-
I ( XX )
pietations rray not find ready acceptance in
inany ortlit^dox quarters. But sooner /it is-
realized, ijj will be better for the communal
* health, tlmt the ancient medical works can not
S>':?rve us /to-day any other useful purpose than
AtisuppKy rich materials for the cultural history
^r-liib race. Its. prolific vocabulary might be
also profitably utilized to create a National
School of Medicine, for continuity of historic
consciousness activates and acts as a stimulus for
progress. And it is well to know and remember
that many of the medical books before they
come from the press need revision to be up-to-
date, and most of them, before thev are ten.
years old, are almost antiquated. Bacteriology,
micro-biology, chemistry, bio-chemistry, non-
irritant antiseptics, prophylaxis, serum-therapy,,
organ o-therapy, skiagrapy and the mechanical
appliances have completely revolutionized dur-
ing the last generation in method and technique
^the treatment and preventio7i of disease^'' which
is the object of Medical Science {Susruta I. 1»
12 ). Our very great achievements, 'in the
past, which we have every reason to be pi'oud
of, instead of inspiring us with the greatest eifyrts
to lead in arts and sciences, should not mortgage
our future to the Dead Fast. For a race that
does not take the utmost care and the most
( xxi )
advanced methods for the prevention of disease
and the preservation of health, can not effectively
compete in the struggle for existence, with more
forward races, and succeed in the survival of the
fittest. Health is tlie foundation of all wealth
and progress. We can not afford to cling to an
empty shell, carry the dead weight of the past
on our back, sacrificing our future, unless we
want to be counted with the extinct races.
At the other extreme, there may be some
who will contend that I have made a free ride
on the wings of imagination, and there could
not be such an advanced medical technique in
the remote past. I want them to follow closely the
original text. 1 suffer from no national
hypnotism or megalomania. Exaggeration, on
the other hand, I believe, is apt to lower the
intrinsic value of a thing. Have I been sub-
consciously influenced by the sense of the
grandeur of the country, as an expression
of suppressed or subdued patriotism ? I leave
that for the readers to judge. I have always
believed .that in ancientness — Egypt, in social
polity T-China, in art — Greece, have nobler
records of fundamental value than India can
boast of. I admit, with all her faults,
I love my country. I take pride and glory in
( xxii )
her past achievements. Tremors of her new
awakening from the slumber of centurifis, have
sent me joyous thrills, made me vil^rant with
emotions and intoxicating dreams. And I live
to see that she will contribute her share, worthy
of her past, promising of a bright and brighter
future, to the advancement of Human Civiliza-
tion, and take her leading place in science and
culture, and in the Council of Nations. But
when studying history, intellect should not and
does not need to be influenced by a gamut of
sentiments and feelinsrs. and can be left free to
exercise its supreme prerogative to judge facts
as they are on their own merit. I have tried to
keep that attitude of my mind — not to corrupt
my intellect with emotions. In studying the
medical historv of India one should not be misled
» 9
by the prevailing pathetic condition, — lack of
hygiene, vicious dietary of the rich and the poor
alike, ignorance and ineptitude of the medical
practitioners, and the credulity of the public, for
progress is not always steady and continuous.
Except in the application of the mechanical
; developments and the appliances of machine
power, modern nations have hardly made any
further advancement in pure arts and literature
than the Greeks. Medieval Europe, after the
( xxiii )
J
\
destruction of the Greek States and the downfall
of the^Roman Empire, sank deeper in superstition
and ignorance. In medical science the name of
Galen ( Claudius Galenus 130 — 201 A. D. )
remained as the only supreme authority in
Europe up to the seventeenth century, and in
the Saracen empire up to the fourteenth century.
The Arabs formed an eclectic school of medicine
out of the synthesis of the Greek and the Hindu
systems. In India medical science had its
highest expression under the Buddhist rule
when the relief of pain, human as well as animal,
was regarded as a state religious duty, and
hospitals were built in every important locality
for men as well as animals. In the famous
Buddhist universities of Taksasila and Nalanda,
there were thousands of students from all parts
of India and Outer-India who went there to
study medicine alone. With the downfall of the
Buddhist states, and the dispersion of the monks,
whose principal duties were to administer to the
sick, the acquired knowledge virtually disappear-
ed from India, and healing became the profession
of the mendicants by magic charms and
incantations, or of the quacks, charlatans and
barbers.
It is possible, however, that though I have
( xxiv )
been careful in the selection of the equivalent
scientific terms for the Sanskrit, a few/ minor
ones may need revision. I have labored under
great disadvantages. Though New York Libra-
ries are splendid institutions, and grant liberal
privileges and easy access to the books, there are
very few books on Indian Medicine, and I have not
been able to avail myself of any book on the
subject. Moreover it is very hard to write
competently for one individual on all subjects
dwelt on in Charaka and Susruta Sarah itas, and
as they are the product of a medical assemblage
— the collected wisdom of the sages that gathered
together from all parts of India, as the drugs
clearly indicate, and Agnivesa and Susruta might
have simply acted as secretaries (Charaka
1. 1» 3), so their interpretation could be best
done by a medical association with competent
depaT'tmental heads on all subjects dealt with
;in those works. Mine has been simply a
pioneer attempt, knowing not whether this
task has been undertaken by any efficient
Indian medical organization, and I, have had
to work single-handed, without any advice from
any source. This, I understand, can te no
excuse or justification for any misleading
statement or false conclusion, and I shall be
( XXV )
grateful to my readers to have them pointed,
out. N
Eor transliteration, I have used the following
method : —
3T=a ^=sk ^=d Jissm
3rr=aora^=:kh s = dh ?T=ry
5=1 *1 = g ^= n ?: s= r
t = i i*, or i 51 =r gh ^ = t S = 1
^=ru ;§:=n q=:th gs=v
3»=uorugs=ch ^=sd ^=s
I? =s e s ss chh ^=r dh ^ =s s
^=ai 3T=:j ^ = n H=ss
sftsrO 'Ksjh Tsrp ^=h
sftsau 3T=rn <T;=rph *=ip
3R[=r z=t ^=rb :=sh
5S= 1 S = th ^= bh
I regret very much that it will not be possi-
ble for me to add an index to this book. This
woris has already taken more than double of the
time I anticipated it would require, and
the pressure of other works does not permit
( xxvi )
me to devote more time to it. Under these cir-
cumstances, I beg leave to bring to a conclusion
the arduous task, I so light-heartedly undertook.
July 22—1922
364 West 120th Street, C. CHAKRABERTY
New York.
AN INTERPRETATION
ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE.
ANATOMY.
The ancient Hindu physicians lacked pro-
found and accurate anatomical knowledge. They
have left more or less superficial, vague and
imaginary description of the liuman anatomy, as
found in their treatises, except in osteology.
There is nothing astonishing in this. The Hindu
medical science developed in the Buddhistic
period for alleviation of physical sufferings.
The Buddhists regarded all life as sacred. They
naturally regarded with horror the idea of
inflicting pain, and of depriving an animal of
life for experimental medicine. In a tropical
climate, as a hygienic measure, cremation of the
dead has been ordained as a religious duty from
misty antiquity. So there was no regular chance
for human dissection and to acquire tlie exact
3 ANCIENT HINDU MEI'ICINE
knowledge of human anatomy. "Whatever tnow-
ledge they acquired, they obtained it
from personal observation and expSrience^
from caring for the wounded and disabled
on the battle-tields, from a comparative
study of the animal anatomy from the
sacrificial animals in the pre-Buddhistic period.
There is no record of the custom of human
sacrifice, except the legend of Sunahsepa [Aitareya
BraJimana, VII.3), as the act was repudiated by all
presiding priests of the Kajastiya ceremony. If
it was a mock-belief as a reminiscence of the
remote past, it, however, clearly indicates that
human sacrifice was no longer countenanced by
the Vedic priesthood and was not practised in
the post-Yedic Sutra period. Tlie students of
siirgery were taught the technique of instrument-
al operation on dead animals and vegetables,
as water-melon, cucumber, pumpkin, gourds or
skin-bags filled wdth water {Siimnita, I, 9. 2-5J.
Under these circumstances, proficiency w^as not
possible.
Neither in Greece Avas it better. In the time
of Hippocrates, the anatomical kno.wledge was
very defective and superfi.cial. No differentiation
was yet made between the arteries and the Veins
and both were called *phleps' — blood-vessels.
ANATOMY 3-
Howe^ver, this distinction was made by Polybus^
but on the whole his anatomical and physiological
knowleclge was erroneous. But Aristotle
(B. C. 385-322) by his comparative study of
animals, laid the foundation of positive anatomy
and physiology. In his ^Ilistory of Animals,' he
devotes two-fifths of the work, the first four
books, to the structural constitution of animals.
He synthesizes all the knowledge of the time on
the subject and corrects many inaccurate and
misleading impressions of his predecessors. But
he confuses, like Charaka and Susruta, bones-
with cartilage and ligaments. He had vague ideas
about nerves {neura) and identified them with
the tendons, arising from the heart and he
regarded the aorta as tiie nervous vein {neurocles-
phleps). And the human anatomy was not
studied with experimental observation and
dissection before the famous Alexandrian schools
attracted the best intellects of the age under the
patronage of Ptolemy Soter {B. C.323-282),
Erasistratus and Herophilus were both celebrated
anatomists of antiquity. They acquired a to-
lerably soulid knowledge of the organs and
their Junctions, not only by animal but also by
human dissection and experimentation. Erasis-
tratus found out that the nerves originated from
4 ASCXESnr HINDU MEDIdNIE
the bTadn aad Heiophiliis distiiigtushed them' into
those: of sKEisilioii and Tolantaxy motioii. Hero-
philos also wrote a treadse on the liTer.^Trhich
Galea has transaEuitled among his nmtmgs. Galen
ilSO-200 JL J>,\ the reaUy accmate anatomist of
■antiquilhr, went to Alexandria to stndy medicine
under the fomous analomisit Heradianus, and
Claiiii:. > us of Pergamum c»n be called
th : - :v:ict medieal sdenoe by bis Tast
^r V research and hk accoiate
'w.„ _ . , - - . ; : j: < -1 :i - ii, :: i no wonder, for gen^a-
f^^^-?. bis writings v ? held nncballenged
-*ty both in E r ^ind Asia^ Tbe Arabic
sc of medicine D^arded bim almost aa
.iwie.
. odotos {£. C, ^^4-4^7) mentions in lis
L. > :y IL S5, that the Egyptian medical pro-
f essioiA WHS Tenr advanced and learned, and it
specialiaed in dilfiarent diseases. But tbere is
laothiQg 1^ bnt a fragment of paipjros of the
sixt^entb centoiy B^ C. to indicate the extent of
the medicil knowledge of the ancient Egyptians.
J^si llnis papyrus^ it is found that the heart,
ves^elSfe liTer, spleeo, kidneys, metezs and bladder
wexe Fdoosniaed and the blood T^sek came fitom
the bexrt. Ibesr Tassels are d^^bed, some
^uriyiDg air, some mucus, while two to the
ANATOMY 5-
right ear are mentioned to cnrrv tlie breatli of
ft
life iwd to the left ear, the hreath of deatli..
(Journal ofAnatomi/ and Physiology, vol. XXXIL
P. 775). Even in tlie third millennium B. C. th&
Babylooians possessed quite to a praise-worthy
extent the knowledi^e of the liver which they
regarded as the seat of life. The Chaldeans
used the liver of the sacrificed sheep for the-
divination of events. In tlie code of Hammurabi-
about 1900 B. C. it seems that the Babvlonian
medical art had already attained a marvellous^
efficiency, as the operation on the eye is men-
tioned with bronze lancet as a regular profes-
sional daily business. And a successful eye>
operation is not possible without a thorough
anatomical knowleds:e of its structure.
^ ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
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12 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
/
"With teeth, sockets of teeth and nails, there
are altogether 360 bones in the whole of t\if.(htim(m}'
body. As the following : — sockets of teeth 32 ;
nails 20 ; long bones of hand and feet 20 ; their
bases 4 ; bones of fingers 60 ; heels 2 ; bases of
the feet 2 ; wrist bones 4 ; ankle-bones 4 ; in
the fore-arms 4 ; in the leg 4 ; knee-caps 2 ;
elbow-pans 2 ; in the thighs 2 ; in the arms 2 ;
collar bones 2 ; shoulder-blades 2 ; palate bones
2 ; the pelvic ring 2 ; ilium 1 ; sacrum 1 ;
coccyx 1 ; back-bone 35 ; neck-bones 15 ; trachea
1 ; jaw bones 2 ; bases of the jaw bones 2 ;,
parietal 2 ; malar 2 ; nasal bones 3 ; ribs ; 24 ;
thoracic ribs 24 and sockets of the ribs 24 and
altogether on the sides 72 bones ; temporal bones
2 ; frontal craniun 4 ; breast bones 17 ; altogether
three hundred and sixty bones."Cha'raka IV.7.4.1
1. Charaka IV. 7. 4 cfif^ ^ferf^^lf'T aRTT'^T^t ^f ^5^^^^,^^'*. 1
^r<^qT?3r7rnjfT:, '^c^Mif^-^pf.^wt, =^^tk qifw^r^rl^, i5tf%^^-
f^^^p^cf^ T?T%, i^^Tcrrm tTgr^'^w, i:i^^5n^i1% ^l^rat, f
ANATOMY 13
*• According to the medical men, there are
360 bones, but in surgery 300 bones are enumer-
ated. Qf these 300 bones, in the branches,
that is in both the arms and feet, there are 120 ;
in the pelvic region, back and the breast, there
are 120 ; and above the trunk 63 : altogether
there are 300 bones in the human body.
"EoUowing are the 120 bones in the branch-
es : — at every finger of the foot, there are 3 —
so 15 ; the foot-support {77ietatarsus) ^ the ankle-
bones and their base 10 ; heel 1 ; in the leg 2 ;
in the knee-cap 1 ; in the thigh 1 ; so in one
foot there are 30 bones : so in the other foot
and arms.
"In the pelvis 5 as coccyx, ilium, pubis 4
and sacrum 1 ; ribs 32 one side and the same
on the other ; back-bones 30 ; in the breast 8 ;
shoulder-blades 2.
•'In tlie neck 9 ; in the wind-pipe 4 ; jaw-
bones 2 ; teeth 32 ; in the nose 3 ; palate 1 ;
malar temporal and ear bones 2 each ; in
the cranium G." Susruta III. 5. 17-20. ''
Susruta III. 5. 17-'-^0 ^tf<!J ^R^1^p!?mcTTf^ t^^tTf^'Tf W^ff\ I
^■^ II ^^
^^jii% vTeff^ I , q:^%cK^^f^5fi^ ^ ^\m\^ II \^
14 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
"The bones of the hand are 27 ; of th^ feet
4 ; of the neck ujd to the grand {bach-hone —
shoulder blades) 7 ; pelvis 5 ; back-bon'es 20 ;
the head with eyes 8 ; in total 91 with the nails
111. As to man, the hones we have ourselves
learnt to know are : — the back-bones above
collar-bones with the grand (shoulder-blades) 7 ;
the back-bones as well as those of the sides {inbs
12 ; the back-bones that go farther the ribs in
the pelvis 5.") Hippocrates : The Nature of
Bones, I. {Peri osteon physios).
From the above comparative table, it is
evident that the Hindu anatomists, especially
the Susruta school, had a tolerably sound know-
ledge of osteology. The discrepancies in the
figures are due to the fact that the Hindus
counted the processes, cartilaginous structures
and the teeth as bones. But they classified the
bones into five kinds according to their nature
of constitution. {Susruta III. 5. SI). The nails —
the epidermal formations were dismissed by
Susruta as bones. If the teeth were counted
in the skeleton, it is because the teeth are bone-
like, hard and strong. Histology is '^a recent
science and it could not be known in ancient
times that tooth is a calcified papilla of the
mucous membrane. If the cartilages, especially
ANATOMY 15
the V?ostal cartilages of the ribs have been
counted as the bones, it is because in the
embryo^aic state all the bones are in cartilagi-
nous condition and in certain diseases, the
costal cartilages become ossified. Sus'ruta counts
30 as the dorsal and the lumbar vertebrae, for
the reasons that the spinal column really consists
of 33 irregular bony segments of wliich the
upper 24i are separated during life by discs of
spinous cartilaginous articular processes, and
are therefore called "true" or "movable"
vertebrae, in distinction from the lower 9 whicli
are called the "false" or **fixed" vertebrae, for
they become consolidated into the sacrum and
the coccyx. The Hindu anatomists counted
the constituent bones of the sacrum and the
coccyx as separate bones as well as the spinous
processes, belonging to the vertebrae. While
the modern anatomists designate as vertebra
the upper 24 loose bones, consisting of the
*C(}rvicar 7, 'dorsal' or 'tlioracic' the succeeding
12, and the 'lumbar' the lower 5. The Hindu
anatomists enumerated the cervical vertibrae
as the 'griya' or neck bones, adding also to it
the hyoid bone. In the wind-pipe (kanthanal'i)
tlie 'four cartilages — cuneiform, arytenoid,
thyroid and cricoid, were counted as bones. The
16 ANCIENT HIKDU MEDICINE
breast-bone is given by Susruta to be 8, f/>r be
iucludes among the breast-bones the 2 collar
bones and as the sternum really consi'sts of
three parts, the 'manubritim* which usually
remains separate throughout life from the rest
of the bone, the cartilaginous 'metasternum*
and the *corpus sterni' or 'mesosternum' which
is formed by the fusion in early life of four
segments.
So if we try to identify the nomenclature
and designation of the ancient Hindu and the
modern systems of osteology, it becomes clear
that the Hindus had acquired a sound knowledge
of the human skeleton. And the term 'skeleton'
[from the Gr. sheletos = dried) is applied to
the parts which remain after the softer tissues
of the body have been disintegrated or removed
and includes not only the bones ,but also the
cartilages and ligaments which bind them
together ( Cunningham : Ancdomy, p. 67). In
tliis generic sense the Hindus described their
bony frame-work, but classified the bones
into five kinds according to their composition
as fiat (kapcUa)^ tooth (7'iichaka)^ tende^r (tmnma),
strong {halaya] a,nd liollow (nala/ca) bones.
(3) "Tliese bones are of five kinds as thefo*ilow-
ing: — 'flat' bones, 'tooth' bones, *tender' bones,
ANATOMY 17
J^strong' bones and 'hollow' bones. The bones of
the kn^e, pelvis, shoulder, malar, palate and the
head are flat bones. The teeth are ot' 'tooth' bones ;
the nose, ear, neck and tlie eyesockets are of
'tender' bones. Those of the hand, foot, sides, back
and breast are of 'strong' bones. The rest of the
bones are 'hollow'." SusriUa III. 5. 21. ^
11. Arthiiology.
In Arthrology^ that is, in the description of
the articulations or joints ( Sandhi ), Susruta
shows also remarkable accuracy. "Joints are
of two kinds — 'movable' {diarthroses) and un-
movable (amphiarthroses.). In the four branch-
es (hands and feet)^ in the jaw-bones and the
loin, the joints are movable and the rest of the
joints, the wise should regard as permanent (that
is, of partial or incomplete movement).
"There are 200 joints in the body. Of them
68 are in the four extremities, 59 in the trunk
and 83 above the shoulder (that is, in the neck
and the head).
— » . ■■—■-- — — '
'B'^I^ II ^l Susruta III. 5, 21«
9
18 AKCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
r
"In every toe there are 3,except the grekt to©
(correspondino;- to the thumb) which has two jo-
ints, thus 14(4 X ?, + 2 = 14). The knee, ankle and
hip has eacli a joint. So one foot has 17 joints ;
the other foot likewise, as well as both the arms.
"In the pelvis 3 ; in the spinal column 24 ;
in the sides {ribs) 54 ; in the breast 8 ; in the
{vertehral-cervical) neck 8 ; in the trachea 3 ;.
in the conjunction joints of the heart and lungs
lS{hrdai/aklomanibacIdha); in the sockets of teeth
32 ; 1 in the thyroid cartilage {kakalaka) and one in
the nose ; 2 bettveen the eye-sockets and the eye-
balls {dvauvartmamandalau netrasrayaii). In the
malar, temporal and the ears 6 ; in the jaw bones
2 ; on the top of tlie brows 2 ; in the craniun 5
and 1 in the forehead.
"These joints are of eight kinds as: — gynglym-
oid (kora — a hinge joint), enarthrodial (tidukhala =
mortar-like in shape ball-and-socket joint)^
enarthrodial {samudgarzcu^-\\\ni), costo-vertebral
(|>ra^<2ra= raft-like), circular (mandala)^ sutural
{ttmnasevan'l= ^^^\\ng) and ^^vci'^hy^io, {conch-shell
like) joints. Intcrphalangeal {gynglymns-&{m^\Q
hinge joints, surrounded by a capsule), radio-
carpal {condyloid-ellypsoidal), the ankle-joint
{gynghjmus), the knee-joint {c)ynglymus)y the elbow-
joint {gynglymus) are all 'kora'\ the shoulder-joint
ANATOMY 19^
{enarth7'odial-ball-and-socket-joinf), the hip-joint,
(enartlirodiar), teeth-sockets [sy fiarthrodial-imm ov~
able ?)^aYea,lViidukhala ; the sterno clavicular joint
{diai'th'odial'fveely movable), sacro-iliac joint (Ji-
arth7'odial)^sjm])hysis pubis {amphidiarthrodiul-^
a combined gliding and hinge joint), and lumbo-
sacral joints {amphidiarthrodial) are ?i\\{sdmudga) \
cervical, dorsal and lumbar vertebral joints
(limited amphidiarthrodial) are ^pratara' ; the tem-
poral and the cranium joints (sutural) are tutma-
sevanl ; trachea, heart, eye and lung-joints are
mandala ; the ear and the nose joints (symphysic)
are sankhavartta. According to the shape of the
joints nomenclature has been fixed. Only the
joints of the bones have been described. The
joints of the muscles, nerves and arteries are
countless". Susruta III. 5. 23-29^*
3a. 3nw^ ^^ ^R^r^ =C^T^^^ ^^^\ I
«yi<94ici1 II lai
20 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
r
III. Myology
In myology, the muscular system, thougli
Susruta at first appears to be fantastical and
vague, yet by comparative study, it can be easily
seen that notwitlistanding imperfection and
clumsiness, there is some fundamental truth in
the statement. Sasruta mentions 500 muscles
{pesL) wliile Steadman's Medical Dictionary
gives the names of 427 muscles. It is possible
that Susruta duplicates many continuous
muscles and omits many deep-underlyingmuscles,
especially of the upper part of the body.
Muscles accoi'ding Muscles according to
to Susruta. Cunningham's
Anatomy.
I, The Lower Exremity
Toe 3x5 = 15 3^
Pore foot 10 7
Ankle & Sole 10 9
Heel 10 2 tendons and
2 ligaments. f 25
Leg 20 12
Knee 5 3 tendons and -
4 ligaments. J
■ Leg and foot
ANATOMY
21
Thigh •
20
22
Thigh
buttock
and
25
Groin "*
10
8
and 2 lio-a-
ments.
100
II. The Trunk of the Bodv
Pelvic region 3
Penis
Spermatic cord 1
Testes 2
2 Ischio-coccygeus anp
Levator Ani ; but the
'Levator ani' is divisible
into 4 parts.
1 Erector 1~] Perineum 12
penis
1 Spermatic cord passing
i throus'h 'cremaster*^
Bladder
Stomach
2
6^
Breast
Abdomen
Navel
10.
6
1
•
Shoulder
Back
0
. 7
16
Buttocks
2x^
1
1
Thorax "j
12
muscle.
Dartos muscle in
scrotum.
Compressor TJrethrae
!> Anterior muscles of
3 I the Trunk 19
-J
16 There are 16 super-
ficial and and 15 deeper
muscles in the back.
22
ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Heart and Colon 2
3 myocardium and mas-
culi papillares tunica
muscularis (colon).
in. The Neck and the Head.
The back n
Jaws
Thyroid
Tongue
eck 4
2x4 = 8
1x2-2
6
5
3
Cheeks
Nose
Front neck
Eye
Forehead
Palate
1x2-2
2
5
5/
Thyro-hyoid,Stylo-hyoid
and Steruo-hyoid.
or 8. The'extrinsic mus-
cles' : genio-glossus,hyo-
glossus, styloglossus and
palato-glossus. The 'in-
trinsic muscles' : supe-
^rior lingualis, inferior
lingualis, transverse fi-
bres andvertical fibres.
The mouth 11 (eleven)
The top of the
he;)d 1
1
Ear 2
3/
2-1-2=4 10
1x2 — 2 7 in the orbit and 4 in the
eye-lids.
4 Eront- \
alis 1
2 Occipi-
talis and
Trapezius2 ^
The scalp 6
Epicranial Aponeurosis
ANATOMY 23
>
)lY. The Female Reproil active Organs
Mammae 5x2 = 10 5 Pectoralis major, serra-
tus magnus, liga-
ments of Cooper, apo-
neurosis and recto
abdominis muscles.
Vagina 2 + 2 = ^ 2 + 3 = 5 Tunica muscularis,
rugae vaginales, and
(common bulbo caver-
nesus, sphincter ani,
extern eus levator ani
and erector clitoridis
^ erector penis).
Uterus 3 3 Ligamentum latnmi
uteri (broad ligament),
ligamentum teres
uteri (round ligament)
and the muscular
'corpus uteri'.
Pallopian tube 3 3 Tunica muscularis,
ligamentum ovarium
proprium and meso-
varium.
"adhere are 500 muscles [pesl]. 400 of them
are in the 4 extremities, 66 in the trunk, and 34
^bove the shoulder (in the neck and the head).
24 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
**Tlie toes { imdahgull ) of each foot have 15
muscles, having 3 muscles for each toe ;, 10 in
the fore-foot {padagre) ; 10 in the heel {hurch-
cJia) ; in the ankle and the sole (gulpha-talayoh)
10 ; between the ankle and the knee {gulpha-
janvantare = Ieg) 20 ; 5 in th^ knee (janu) ; 20 in
the thigh {uru) ; 10 in the groin (vanJcsana) :
thus in one foot there are 100 muscles ; so in
the other foot and the two arms.
*'In the j)elvis {payn) 3 ; in the penis {medhre)
1 ; in the spermatic cord {sevcm'i) 1 ; in the
testes (vrsmi)' 2 ; in the buttocks (spJiicha) 5
each ; in the upper part over the bladder
{vasti-sirasi) 2 ; 5 in the stomach (udara) ;
in the navel {nabhi) 1 ; in the upper back {prsth-
ordha) 5 longitudinal {muscles) on each side ; in
the sides(of the spinal column =parsvci)Q ; 10 in the
breast (Vaksa) ; in the shoulder (aJcsahamsa) 7 ;
2 in the heart and colon {hrdayamasaya) ; 6 in
the spleen, liver and the lower intestine {yahft-
pllha-imdul'a = abdomen).
*'In the back part of the neck {grlvct) 4 ; 8
in the jaws {hamt) ; in the thyroid .cartilage
{kakalaJca) 2 ; in the palate {tahi) 2 ; in the
tongue {jihva ) 1 ; in tlie cheeks 2 ; in the ^nose
(ghona) 2 ; 2 in the eyes {netra)-^ in the front
neck {gan a) 4 ; in the two ears {karna) 2 ; 4 in
I
ANVTOMT 25'
tlie forehead {lalata) , and 1 {one) on the top of
the head {mrasi).
*'A woraan has 20 more muscles than man :
10 in the two mammse {sterna) at 5 each, which
are developed in adolescence ; in the vagina
{apatyapatha) 4. two in the entrance and two in
the interior ; in the uterus {garhha-cchidrd) 3
and in the fallopian tuhes {sukrm'ttava-pravesa)^^
the muscles are 3.
"According to the position, the muscles are
grouped together {oahula), isolated {pelava),
thick {sthula)^ thin {stihsma), extensive {prthii)^
glohular {vrtta= tendon), short (/^r«s?;a), long-
cylindrical {dlrgJia), hard {sthira), soft {mfdu),
smooth {slahsm = nn^tYmted, that is primitive
involuntary muscles), striated (lY^^'A-^sa-^oluntary
muscles with transverse stripes), and they cover
the joints, bones, arteries and nervous fibres
according to their respective needs.
"The muscles that have been mentioned
of men in their penis and testicles, cover in
women their interior reproductive organs."
: Susrtffa til. 5. 37-45/
4. TT^ ^T^hjfiTf^ vr^f^ I cfT€t ^c^rft 5TcfT(% ^jw^ I ^"s ^s^^fe: i
26 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Tlie difference betu'een Sus'ruta's 500 muscles
and Stedman's 427 muscles, which if counted
separately like Susi'uta on both sides of the
body Avould amount to nearly 800 muscles,
can be easily accounted for by the fact that
not only the modern classification and nomen-
clature of tlie muscles are different from the
"^ ^T<«IIcft II ^c
V
^^T^i§sT Trrs\if{ xf,^^7^il^ f% cfi: ii ay^ ii
ANATOMY 27
\
vancicn't Hindu system, but Susruta did not
include^the tendons {mamsa-rajj ii) and ligaments
{s'imanta) in the muscular order. It is evident
from close comparative study that the Susruta
school ot anatomv had tolerablv sound know-
ledi^e of the human muscular system for all
practical purposes.
Sns'ruta mentions 14 joints of more than 2
bones {samghata) which are held together by
a band or sheet of fibrous tissue, which he calls
*siincmta that is ligament. He enumerated
them in the following junctions : — "Three are
in each foot at the ankle ( a joint of iihia^
flbida and astragalus, held together by, — anterior
tvbio-jibular ligament^ posterior tihio-fihular lig.,
taXo-iihulare anterias, calcaneo-jibulare, talo-
fihidare 'posterius and ligamentnm deltoidenm)^
at the knee (a joint of i\\Q femur, tibia, capped
by the patella, lield together by ligamentum
patellae, lig. Posticum JVinsloioii, lig. collater-
ale tibiale, lig. collaterale jibulare and ligamenta
eruciata genii), at the hip-join t (of ^\^ femur, ilium
and pubi>s, held together by lig. Transversum
ncetabuli, 'lig. iiio-femorale, lig. fuhofemorale^
lig. fischlo-capsulare, and lig. teres femoris) ;
so in th(} arns at the wrist (a radiocarpal
articulation between the radius and the
28 ANCIENT HIxSTDU MEDICINE
scapJwid^ semilunar and cuneiform hones; held
toi^etlier by the external lateral ligament,
internal lateral ligament, anterior and i^osterior
ligaments), at the elbow ( a joint of
Jaimerus, radius and ulna, held together
by the ante7Hor and poste^nor ligaments, lig.
collaterale ulnar and lig. collaterale radiale\_
and at the arm-pit (the slioulder-joint
of tlie head of tlie humerus, glenoid fossa of
scapula and the coracoid iwocess, held together
by labrumglenoidale, capsula articularis and liga-
mentum coraco-liumerale). Accoding to others,
there are 18 (ligaments). The above-mentioned
14, one at the pelvis (sacro-iUac joint of sacrutn^
ilium and pubis, held together by lig. sacro-iliaC'
um anterus, lig. saerb-iliacum postonis hreve^ lig.
sacro-iliacum posterns longu^n, lig. ilio-lumhale,
lig. sacro-tiiberosum . lig. sacro-spinosu7n, lig.
pubicum posteri7is,an terius,superius and inferius^^^t
the upper-breast (sterno-claviciilar \pm\. of the ster-
num -da^di clavicles held together by Zi^. stei'no-clavi-
C7flaris and lig. rhomholdale) and the lower-breast
{steimo-costal ]Qmi^ of the sternum and the seven
costal cartilages held together by lig.' costo-ster-
nalium radiatum, ligg. sterno-costalia interarticu"
laria) and at the neck (scapulo-clavicular joint
held together by lig. coraco-claviculare, lig^
\
ANATOMY 29
^onoicleum and lig. trajoezoideum). Susruta III.
5. 15-1@=
It is very likely that Susruta by 'simanta*
means only the synovial capsule and the mem-
brane which are usually found at the joint of
more than two bones and which he calls 'sam-
ghdta\ By tlie general term 'saudhi' he has
designated the articular joint and which he has
enumerated as 210 and tlie fibrous band which
binds the bones at the joints together (ligament)
and the muscles to the bones {tendons,) whether
it is ligamentous or tendonous, he calls by the
common designation 'snayu*-'io bind' and which
he describes to be nine hundred (///. 5. 30,)
And the large and strong tough fibrous longi-
tudinal bands and chords are called ^Jcandara\
^^Kan^aras are 16 : 4 in feet {tendo acMli^ in
the leg and semimarbransus tendon in the thigh),
4 in the arms {supinator longus tendon in the
forearm, and the semilunar or hiceptial fascia
tendon in the arm,) 4* in the neck {sterno-oleido-
mastoid tendon^ memhrana tectora^ memhrana
atlanto-oecipitalis posterior^ lig .cruciatam atlantis
30 ANCIENTHINDUMEDCINE
/
with cms siiperius and infejnns), 4 in the
spinal column (lig. lorigitucli'.iale anterms^ li(j.
lonyitudinale posterms, Iki.flavum^ and lig.
supraspinale). The terminals of the "kandaras of
the hand and feet are in the nails ; tliose of the
neck passing through the heart terminate in the
sexual organ (medhra) and those of the spinal
column passing through the pelvis terminate in.
the pubis." Susruta III. 5. 10. '^
c ' . Ligameuts
Susruta nT ■,
lendoiia
1. The Extremities.
Toe 5x6-30 27 + 5 = 32 Palmar hand
lig collateralia and svno-
vial membrane at each
interphalangeal joint,
2 in each toe and 1 in the
large toe(^ x 4 + i = 5)and
5 dorsal extensor tendons.
5 Four ligaments and one
svnovial membrane
5 Pive tendons.
28 18 intratarsal ligg. and
10 s. membrane.
30
Leff 30 28
-»
Thidi 40 34
'o
Hip-joint 10 8 + 1 = 9
Knee-joint 10 7 + B = ]0
150x4 = 600
«»-■ . ■ — — — ■ ■ ■
\
ANATOMY
\
II.
The Trunk.
Loin
60
18
Back-bone
80
71 Lig.
31
interspinalia,
lig. siipra-spinalia, lig.
flava— vel subflava and
synovial membrane for
each of the 12 thora-
cic and 5 lumbar verte-
brae and 3 common lio^a-
ments for all.
Sides 60 72 Lig. capituli costae radia-
(24 ribs) turn, lig. capituli costae
interarticulare and syno-
vial membrane for each
of the 24i costo-vertebral
articulations,
SO 56 Lig. costo-sternalium
radiatum, lig. costo-
xiphoidea, lig, sterno-
costal ia interarticularia
and the posterior costo-
' sternal ligament for each
of the l4 ribs (7 pairs)
230
32 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
(
III. The Neck and the Head. ^
Neck 36 52 4 Ligaments for ''each of
the 7 cervical vertehrae,
sterno-clavicular 1 2 and
acromo-clavicular liga-
ments 12.
Head 3l< 31 Occipito-atloid joints 2
and each is provided with
70 8 ligaments, membrana
atlanto occipitalis anteri-
or, membrana occipitalis
posterior, membrana
tectora, lig. cruciatum
atlantis, lig. alaria, lig.
apicis dentis, capsular
Total 900" ligament and synovial
membrane ; atlo-axoid
joints are three, eacli
supplied with 5 liga-
ments, lig. trans ver sum
atlantis, capsular, anteri-
or and posterior atlo-
axoid ligaments and
synovial membrane.
Susnita III, 5, 30— 32«
, ANATOMY 33
t
It will be noticed that there is a marked dis-
crepancy between the two figures. And it may-
be due to the different methods of calculation
and classification, or it is possible that by 'snayu*
Charaka and Sus'ruta meant something entirely
different from the ligament and the tendon. The
general tendency of the Sanskrit scholars is to
regard ^snayiC as nerve. But this is contradicted
by its etymological derivation from *sm' or *si\
to bind and the Susruta mentions 210 joints,
but does not say anything anywhere else
of the binding material that holds them
together excepting of 14 *simanta^ at the junc-
tion of more than two bones (samghata). He
could not possibly omit to mention the binding
material of the rest of the joints, when he has
been minute in every other detail. And more-
over the internal evidence tends to prove that
he meant by ''snayu\ ligaments and tendons as
he says : — *'Smi/tis are of four kinds — branching
(pratmiavatt), globular (vrtta), extensive (prthti)
and perforated (susira.) The 'snayns' in the four
branches aijd joints are branching ; 'kandm^as'
(the large snayus) are globular; the ^siiayus' of the
anterixir parts of the stomach, intestine and the
bladder are perforated ; the *snaytis' of the sides,
breast, back-bone and the head are extensive.
3
34 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
"As a boat of wooden planks well tied by
many knots, can bear the weight of aninials and
goods in water, so a man can carry weight as his
joints are knotted together by *S7iayus\ The body
does not suffer as much by the destruction of the
bones, muscles or joints as by the destruction of
^snayus*. The physician that knows well the
internal and superficial ^snayus' can only extract
from the body, the deeply impregnated missiles",
"Susmta III. 5. 34r36."'
"The flesh (of the body) being tied to the
bones by vascular system and *snayt{s\ do not
tear out and fall down". Susruta III. 5. 22. '
^T*Hi<*'iaiiii«%i wt ^ ^fro: ^^ I
HKW?TT *?%q,l ^m ^?TTt%cTT II
^:^% sif^Tsf^jR ^■[^ri\•. ^73m\ ^^', \
wT^fiT^fk'V^T vrR^r?T ^Tj\ II
w. ^ra : irf%3irfTrfcf ^raww^rKreM i
€ '^^' ai^JTm TfT^^tf^ tf%^ 11^^
8. iTt^psm fiT^^Tf^ famfk: ^igf^T^Hn I
.\
ANATOMY 35
IV. — The Vascular System.
The vascula7^ system (^im = tubular vessel) is no
less difficult, rather more so, as it defies all hu-
man ingenuity to describe it in tabulated figures
Eor the arteries bifurcate into branches and
twigs, and spread out all over the body in infinite
shape and size ; the veins commence at the ter«
minations of the capillaries and as they converge
towards the heart, they form larger and still
larger vessels, uniting with one another until
finally seven large trunks empty their contents
into the auricles of the heart ; likewise the lym-
phatic and the nervous networks. Hardly two
vessels are of equal length, size, shape and di-
mension in two different parts of the body.
Therefore any comparison is necessarily to be
more or less of guess-work. In the following table
only the large and distinctive longitudinal vessels
have been counted from the * Atlas of Applied
Topographical Anatomy^ of Karl von Bardeleben
and Heinrich Haeckel and the *Begional Ana-
tomy* of George Mo Clellan. It seems that Sus'ruta
includes'the nervous net-work in the vascular
system which he divides into four classes, nervous
( Voita — air ), venous ( pittaAdWQ ), lymphatic
( /feapAct-phlegm ) and arterial ( raHavaha-sira-
blood-carrying vessel ). The identification of the
36 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE (
^vata^ pitta, kapha and raktavaha sb^as* wu-h the
■nervous, venous, lymphatic and arterial systems
is not far-feclied and fanciful. For Sus'ruta
says : — "Tbe'yaifa'-carrying vessels are of tawny
or light-golden-brown ( mnma) colour, and are
tilled witli air; */)?'^/a '-carrying vessels are all
warm and of blue {n'ila) colour ; 'kapha^ bearing
vessels are cool and of white ( sveta ) colour ; the
blood-carrying vessels are of red ( lohita ) colour
and are neither warm nor cold." III. 7. 13*''.
"There are seven hundred tubular vessels : as
gardens by water-conduits and fields by canals are
irrigated and nourished, so by the irrigating
and draining action of the 'siras* the body is
nourished and sustained. As the midrib of a
plant -leaf gives off laterally countless veins, so
from the main (siras) small and smaller branches
spread out." Susruta iii. 7, 2\
Sa. cT^re'nr ^m^i: ^^ ^^ fsro: i
1
ANATOMY
37
\
n:j ' — <
•^ • •v •
\
O ^ r-<
\
•^ ^^
J
•^ 5^.
S-S-^
CB ~ -fcb
o •— "te
r:3 o
vT'c:) c!
o =;
3 -i-j ■ "^
• 1— 1 cc aj
?; g o
-t-^ ^
7 c^ o
8 bo
"Si
II
•
o S g
•73 U ^
"o.
s:l,
m O
t>
o ce f*^
a
CM
i-l
r-i
i-H
•
'7* -'-'
o
'=4-1 .^ C3
+^ "H
cS
CD
^2 6C
Cog
<4— •
• 1— 1
C/3 r- O
^ •IT' c3
S Sg IXh
CO
CO
CM
S2h
o
HH
'"' CO rf
c3
a; P2 :h
^iw
r— I
CM
i-H
Oi
r-i
CO
s Arteries
The Four
05
r-l
=3
o
P^
O
c3
f-i "^ ^ xO
'-5 cc
rH
C<1
I— 1
C5
r:^
>^ 1^ CO
52 a
c
CO
CO
•
H-l
C30
l>- CO
I-H
h-H
i-l -^ CO ^
0 c
!:! 5h
0
•
>.2
U C
O
CO
CO
!>•
C5 ■
Oi
rH ^ !>• O
(u
c;
•• 0
1
u •
<v
IS
$-1
|2
>
CO
o
CM
1
CO
o
o
1-H
CO
03
fH c^«C C5
4p
r ; Veins
: arteria
/
A's
&-S
1
o
-Q
t
-t-3
CO
2^ w
4) O
-g 2
<4 O)
• I-H
1— H
0)
05
O
<-H
a
^ <D bo
O t- CO p
CU c3 O O
P^CCWPQ
^
^h;^b
H^ ^
58 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE ^
"The nervous {vdta), the venous ( jol/^« ),
lymphatic (kapha) vessels are 175 each as well as
the arterial (blood-carrying slras) passing the liver
and the spleen. Thus seven hundred 'siras^
spread out all over the body. In one foot, there
are 25 nerve-vessels ; likewise in the other foot
and each of the arms. There are 3i nerve-vessels
in the trunk of the body : in the pelvic region 8,
in the sides 2 each, in the back 6, and in the
breast 10, above the shoulder, there are 45 :
in the neck 14, in the two ears 4, in the
tongue 9 and both the eyes 8. Thus l75 nerve-
vessels are described. And this description also
corresponds to that of the venous, lymphatic and
the arterial (blood-carrying) vessels, with this
exception that instead of 8 nerve-vessels in
the eyes and 4 in the ears, there are 10 (in
the eyes) and 2 (in the ears) of the venous,
lymphatic and blood-carrying (arterial) vessels."
Susrttta III. 5. 7. 5-7 ^^
ANATOMY 39
»
Thut the heart was the centre of the circu-
latory Jtystem, of the hlood, was well understood
by Susnita (1. 14. 3-()) and according to Charaka
it has 10 out-going {a?'ferlal) and in-coming
{venous) trunk-vessels (1. 30. 1).
"Though chyle [rrtsa] circulates all through-
out the body, its principal centre is tlie heart
{hrdaya). That chyle in 24 tubular vessels, 10
upwards, 10 downwards and 4< sideways, enters
into every part of the body, irrigates and main-
tains its growth, vitalizes and supports life
Though chyle is aquatic in nature but in its
passage through the liver and the spleen, it be-
comes blood. Susruta 1. 14. 3-5.^^
^T^ %gqt: 1 ir^ctfr iT^^^sif^^ajct ^TcRlTTt fw^t siT^TfW IK
^^ i^ fwni: ^T^T^tf^ I f^^ci^ fqrT^^ %^?'5i, ^'n'qlf i
Tli, ?:^^T: *i*=<^I^ I ^^cTlf^ ^TT f3!TT3raTf*T ^raHTITf^ aTT^^ncnr^T ll-Q
^fiprgrT^ra^'n: m({4 w\TM%v^m^f?[ ^^% v(\T^m ?iFraf^
40 ANCIENT hin;du medicine
*'Iii the heart there are ten great out-going:
Ol|C-o
aTtn\
[mahamida] and in-coming [mahaphalalftu.h\xlar
vesseles [dhamam].'' Charaka 1. 30. l^^''. The ten
great vessels are the seven main trunk veins and
three arteries as follows : (l) superior vena cava,
[2] interior vena cava, [S] coronary sinus, [i-7]
vena jiulmonalis ; [8] left pulmonary artery, [9]
aorta, [10] right pulmonary artery.
"Below the heart, on the left side the liver
and the lung, and on the right side, the spleen and
the lung, are situated.'^ S^ismta III. 4. 30^-.
According to Charaka the skin consists of six
strata (IV. 7. 2)^" hut Susruta more accurate-
Iv describes them to be seven. III. 4. 3^*.
w^f^H ^^ip:iiTriT ^^^^rf% ^r^r^^riiTTf^ ^% q^ -^^ ^mv,
14. c?^ W'i'^lfFri^ TS*aiir<Uci4f<|{iR=gjfri5ra =fi^<^ ^^f^l^T: «Tf
ANATOMY 41
Siu'ruta Strata of the skin according to
Modern anatomy
Avbhasini f Stratum corneum
Lohita m^ I Stratum intermedium! Stratum
Sveta S I Stratum disjuuctum i lucidum
Tamra ^ •{ Stratum granulosum
Vedini ^
Rohini P^
Mamsadhara
Stratum mucosum
Stratum germinativum
Corium
Erom the foregoing comparative charts, it
will be seen, that though tlie ancient Hindu
anatomical school erred in some details, hut in
fundamentals, their l^nowledge was remarkably
accurate, minute and thorough, especially when
we take into consideration the dim and distant
age, in which these medical treatises were
composed. The study of anatomy was regarded
essential in the medical education and practice.
Charaka says ; — '*In the medical science, know-
ledge of anatomy is necessary ; one can only
understand principles of hygiene, when be has
^sfV^T^ I <lffTfT 5WT^' f^f^'^e rT5|Tt^^g=ITTO5 ; ^T ^mt WT-
42 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
studied Ijodily sciences ( anatomy and physio-
logy ) IY.6.V'\ r
Susruta recommends dissection. He says S
"The parts and the parcels (of the body) that
have been mentioned up to the skin, can not at
all he described without dissection. So if a
surgeon wants to aquire positive (doubtless)
knowledge, he should analyse thoroughly all the
parts and organs of a body, after disinfecting it.
Occular observation easily supplements studies
and adds to knowledge. (The way a corpse should
be taken for observation is described thus). The
corpse should possess all the organs and not be
deceased of any long illness or of poisoning,
nor should it be of a man of a hundred years
of age. The contents of its viscera (urine and
feces) should be removed and it should be kept
in a stream without current to rot. A plat-
form should be made in the water to lay the
corpse on it and cover the whole body with hay,
grasses and leaves, so that fish can not eat it,
and it is not put out of its place. In seven
days, it will decompose sufficiently and then
rub it irentlv from the skin to the interior with
ANATOMY 43
grass, ;iaiL' or bamboo-skin and observe minutely
every Morgan and every part of the body.
Smruta, III. 5. 49-50''.
In the Hippocratic collection of writings,
though there is no systematic presentation of
muscles, ligaments, blood-vessels and glands, yet
their knowledge and position are clearly indi-
cated in the books *^eri arthron' (articulations)
*peri osteon physios' (the nature of bones),
^jperi adenon' (glands), *pe7'i sarkon" (flesh) and
*mochaikos\ However their description is very
vague and meagre, as being mentioned indirect-
ly in connection with the treatment for dislo-
cation and fracture of bones.
Galen was undoubtedly, par excellence, the
greatest of ancient anatomists. The manner
^^fjf^T f^cT ^k^Jis^y^qtSTf^f^^JC II
s
^TiracT^ijwf' ^^ ^Hf^iT?7iia^.
44 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
and methods of his narration, the style/i of his
language, the accuracy of his descriptiorr, make
the anatomical study, not only instructive, but
captivating and refreshing. He divides his
monumental work, *^The Utilities of the Muman
Body'* which became the classic and the stand-
ard authority in human anatomy in Europe
and the Saracen empire for more than fourteen
centuries, into 17 books or chapters as follows:
— I. Hand ; II. Hand, fore-arm and the arm ;
III. Abdomen ; IV. Alimentary organs and
their auxiliaries ; Y. Alimentary organs and
their auxiliaries ; VI. Respiratory organs ; VII.
Vocal organs ; VIII. The head, brain and the
senses ; IX. The cranium, the brain and the
cranial nerves ; X. The eves and their auxiliar-
ies ; XI. The face, especially the jaw-bones ;
XII. The neck and the rest of the spine ;
XIII. The pelvic structure ; XIV. Genital
organs ; XV. Genital organs ; XVI. Nerves,
arteries and veins ; XVII. Epilogue — Difference
between function and utility. On every organ
and every part of the body, Galen gives a
comparative review of the similar structure of
other animals and philosophic generalisations
as to the origin and development of organs,
which he ascribes to functional utility and
ANATOIY 45
adaptai\ioa as a means of self-preservation and
reproduction and thereby anticipating Lamarck
(17ti!l-1829) by nearly seventeen centuries.
Below is given a short translation of his intro-
ductory general remarks on the 'genital organs',
as a sample, believing that it will interest more
readers than any other part of the body.
*'Nature has three objects in view in the
structural formation of the animal ; she has
created them really, either for preservation of
life as the brain, heart and the liver, or for the
convenience of life as the eyes, ears, nose and
hands, or for the perpetuation of the race as
the external genital parts as the testicles and
the matrix ; now we have previously demon-
strated in detail, that any of the parts, either
created for (preservation of) life, or for its
embellishment, could not be better devised
than what they are actually. It still remains
for us to explain in, this book, the parts, destined
for the perpetuation of race among us.
"First of all, nature would have desired, if
it were possible, to create her work immortal.
Nature not permitting it, she has invented the
expedient she could to obtain immortality for
it (her creation), as a clever founder of a city,
who not only cares that his city is actually
46 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
peopled, but takes all precautions tha^ it lasts
for ever, at least as long as possible. However
it does not appear tbat any city has been
fortunate on that point, to have lasted so long
that time has completely effaced the memory
of its founder. But works of nature have
lasted for thousands of years and shall live
still, by the admirable means, she has invented
to substitute always a new animal for a dead
animal.
"What is then the means adopted among
animals and man, so that no race perishes, on
the contrary each race remains intact and immor-
tal ? That is what I propose to explain in this
book, in commencing with my exposition. Nature
has given to all animals organs of conception and
she has associated with those organs a special
impulse of pleasure of generation and filled the
soul with such an irrestable desire, quite un-
explainable with their functional uses, that the
animals erotically excited and impassioned,
especially the adolescent, though deprived of
reason and understanding, attend to the per-
petuation of the race, as if they were completely
reasonable. One should think that nature really
knowing that the objects she has created, being^
not susceptible of perfect wisdom, has given the
ANATOMY 47
anim&ls, as a substitute for that wisdom, the
allurement of intense pleasure, associated with
the usage of those organs to assure the salvation
and conservation of the race.
"It is just to admire, first, the ingenious
device of nature and then the structure of the
organs which naturally correspond for each
animal to its bodily form. You would learn
from us one day, concerning other animals when
we fill the gap, left by Aristotle. Por the human
species, all the world knows and understands, to
what degree of utility, the external genitals by
their convenient situation, their dimension, their
figure and their entire conformation, have
attained. When you will know the utility of
each organ, profoundly hidden, organs which are
revealed by dissection, you will admire, I am
sure, the art that has created them.
"In fact, nature has placed the matrix beneath
the stomach, the region she has recognized as the
most favourable for copulation, reception of the
sperm and especially for the growth of the
embryo so ^hat the fetus can attain to a perfect
state. You could not find, in fact, in any part
of the animal, another region more suitable, for
any of the purposes above-mentioned ; this is
the best (place)for copulation, being fav removed
48' ANCIENT HINDU MEDCINE
from the facial organs ; most favourable for; the
growth of the fetus, being capable of consider-
able distension without difficulty and finally, the
most convenient for the child-birth, as it is the
easiest for the baby to slip off downwards to the
inferior parts and the legs. In fact, the mouth of
the matrix, which nature has formed as a passage
for the entrance of the sperm and the departure of
the embryo when it has reached its complete de-
velopment, opens in the vagina. When the ani-
mal has conceived, the mouth(of the matrix)closes
so firmly, it will not permit the least thing either
to escape or to penetrate ; during copulation, it
dilates and extends in such a way that the
«perm has an easy and large passage to the
matrix."
II. PHYSIOLOGY
««
Anna^ (food) supplies the body with *dhatii*
(elements) for its up-building and preservation."
Siisi'uta 1. 14. 11 ^'. Food is converted in the
alimentary tract into *ra8a' (chyle) by 'antaragni*
(internal fire or combustion, that is oxidation).
Oxidation takes place by the natural warmth of
the 'pitta^ (bile = sanguinary principle) of the
body. "As fire in a hearth converts rice and
water of a cooking pot into food and foam, so
the digestive-fire {pachatyagni) converts the
ingested food and drink into chyle and 'mala'
(excreta = feces and urine)." CharakaVl. 15. 6**.
The bile-duct being situated above the alimen-
tary receptacle, digestion is facilitated by the
favourable situation as that of the sun and
the moon. (The idea being that as cooking
easily takes place when the cooking-pot is placed
upon the fire and not below it or sideways, so
the stomach being situated above the bile-duct,
which was regarded as the fire-principle, easy
17. %l^ q-RTW +ird*HMMKI^I^Mdr'!icT: I
18. vri VS*\^W\'AM\m<^M^:f^r^'. I
4
50 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
digestion was tlie natural consequence). Due to
the rich aquatic content of the place, ingested
food and drink are easily softened, favouring
digestion. Susriita 1, 21. 16.*°
*'Now the question is whether the (digestive)
fire is a different thing from 'pitta* (the bile) or
the bile is the fire ? The answer is that due to
its caloric quality, 'pitta* acts as fire in its action
of cooking (pachatia) and oxidation (dahana) and
therefore, the bile is called the 'internal fire*
(oxidase). Siisruta 1, 21. 9 ■-'^.
"The chyle (rasa) though aquatic, becomes
red during its passage through the liver and the
spleen. In the radiant heat of the body, the
qualified chyle becomes red, and is called the
'rakta* (blood)." Siisruta 1. 14. 5-6."-^
20. cT^ fg!=3M', f¥ ftm3Eff^^?^sftn, ^«Tr»1[%?T fq^i^^rni:
?f?T I "^#^^,— f ^ri rqTi«ifff^qfT^sfwm«i?f, Niyyc<4m ftrif
T^T^jftlf^ II <t
21. ^ Ts^\^ r^ vM-r^:"^ w^ xm^^f^ n
PHYSIOLOGY 61
"Chyle is transformed into blood, blood into
flesh, flesh into fat, fat into bone, bone into
marrow and marrow into semen." Susruta
1. 14. 10.^*
'*Because the chyle is transformed into
*dhatu' (elements or bodily substances), and it
constantly circulates in the body, it is called the
Vasa'.
"This *rasa' remains in each ^dhdtu' 3500
moments (that is, the chyle is formed the same
day, but it takes five days for the chyle to be
transformed into blood and blood into flesh etc.)
and thus in one month it is converted into the
semen of man and 'di^ftava' (the rupture of the
Graafian vesicles with the ripeness of the ova, or
the menstrual blood which is associated with the
occurrence) of woman." Susruta 1. 14. 11-12" \
Semen "circulates in every part of the body
of all living beings ; as fat in the milk, sugar in
the sugar-cane juice, so is the semen [suhra)
22. WT5^' fT^ Tig" Tt^T^^: ^mw^ I
^<i^^s% fWt ?T^T *rfr: ^mm ^pw^: iK°
23. cT^ T^ 5Tc^ ^^TgT^t;^^^si^ ^: iiU
52 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
present in the human body." Susruto, III. 4. 20-
21-*. It is not manifest in the children for it is
present in a small quantity as the sweet aroma
and delicate fragrance of a flower is not per-
ceived in a young bud before time develops and
ripens it, though its presence can not be doubted
in an elementary state. Susruta I. 14. 15'^*^.
**In the living body, there are as many cir-
culations as are present in the body like the
chyle and the blood etc, for in the living body
without circulation, they can not be produced or
reduced." C/im^aka III. 5. 1"^.
*'The centre of the vitalizing (prdnavaha) cir-
culation is the heart and the great trunks {maha-
srota) of arteries and veins). Charaka III. 5. 3^'.
5T^5 cT^r ^ ^^ ferr^fir^: w^\
24(a). gqj fl H^gii^mt 1=^ ^ 3I^f«TfMlffI ^ ti TMl^?J^wn%,
^11% ai^: ar^: ^Rwrani^t^fifffi^f^ IK a. "^
25. ^T^w. g:^ ^ftf'T'^ >4H[^5im<dr«<5Ti t?^f«f^ ^cret ^nrrr-
?T^t^ I
PHYSIOLOGY 53
<<
As the fibres of the water-lily and lotus
stalks are naturally perforated, so in the tubular
vessels, there are minute pores in the tubular
vessels {dhamani) throuch -wliigh the 'rasa'
circulates." Susruta IV. 9. 9.:,
I. Digestion.
From the above quotations, it can be seen
that the ancient Hindu school of medicine
grasped the essential fundamentals of digestion
and circulation, though the intricate and complex
process of their mechanism was not and could
not be understood by them. Physiological
chemistry is of but very recent development and
growth. A few years ago, it was not even sus-
pected that the digestion and absorption were
due to the fermentative action of the glandular
secretions. The digestive ferments or enzymes
reduce the ingested food particles by cleavage
into their elemental compounds by creating
molecular instability through their electro-
chemical action and in proportion as the food-
stufPs are altered thus in the alimentary canal
and transrQ;fmed from insoluble into soluble sub-
stances, from such as are not diffusible into such
27. ^rar ^«T^ff: wrf^ 'jito f^ =^ i
54* ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
as are easily diffused, and they are absorbed by
the epithelium of the gastro-intestinal mucous
membrane and are synthetized into chyle during
the passage through the restitutive secretion of
the cells. The reaction of the enzymic activity
upon the ingested food-particles, is the reduction
and cleavage into their component elements,
which is the same thing as oxidation. The
Hindus understood that digestion was con-
commitant with oxidation (anta7'agni), but did
not know that the oxidation was caused by the
digestive ferments.
*JRasa' has been translated as the chyle, for it
is the most appropriate available term. But Vasa'
is more than chyle. ^Rasd' is the whole of the
soluble and diffusible solution of the digested
food which being partially regenerated and
synthetized during its passage through the
mucous membrane by the anabolic restitutive
secretions of the living cells, either enters into
the lymph sinuses of the mucosa, or are absorbed
by the solitary and agminated follicles and by
the lymph-glands interposed along the lacteals or
are taken up by the blood capillaries of the
mucous coat, especially in the villi of the small
intestine. Whether the 'msa' forced into the
lymph torrent is carried along the thoracic duct
PHYSIOLOGY 55
•
which pours its contents (lymph and chyle) into
the left subclavian vein or absorbed in the blood
capillaries of the villi, travel by the venous
portal system, it has to pass through the hepatic
cells for further synthetic transformation, before
it is driven to the heart for general circulation.
The blood is red in color, for it is caused by
the mass of red-corpuscles (erythrocytes) held in
suspension in the plasma. The blood is composed
of a liquid part, the *plasma', in which float a
vast number of microscopical bodies, the red
corpuscles {erythrocytes), the white corpuscles
{leucocytes) and the blood plates or platelets
{ hematohlast ). The red corpuscle has the
shape of a biconcave disk with bevelled edges
with a diameter of 0.0075 millimeter in man
and for each cubic millimeter of blood, there are
red corpuscles in man from 4 to 5 millions, in
goat 9 to 10 millions, in sheep 13 to 14 millions,
in birds 1 to 4 millions and in fish quarter
million to two millions. The chief function of
the red corpuscle is to carry oxygen, which it
owes to its principal ingredient — haemoglobin and
which possesses the special quality of chemically
combining with oxygen and yielding up the same
oxygen, whenever there is decrease in the con-
centration of oxygen in the solvent. In perfor-
56 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
mance of this important function, the red cor-
puscles soon lose their vitality, deteriorate and
are disintegrated in the liver. The liver elimi-
nates the wastes and the pigments as an excretory
product, which thus receives the golden brownish
tinge. The bile is essentially the excretory
product of the metabolic wastes which are formed
in the hepatic cells as a result of their detoxi-
cating and metabolic activities, but the bile has
adapted in the economy of the system, to the
functional utility of zymo-exciters, particularly
of the lipolytic enzymes. The red corpuscles are
newly formed again in the red bone marrow and
the spleen, where special cells are provided for
their reproduction. But it is probable that the
spleen plays a more important role in the inte-
gration and synthesis of the haemoglobin mole-
cules, for iron is its important component element,
having special chemical affinity for oxygen, and
iron is principally metabolized in the spleen.
It is tlierefore a delightful surprise to read in
Charaka and Susruta that they attributed to the
liver and the spleen of transforming ^^asa* into
blood, and heart was the centre and medium of
the blood circulation to irrigate, feed, nourish
and sustain tissues and life. Of course it was
a fanciful speculation that the blood is trans-
PHYSIOLOGY 57
formed in five days into flesh and in a month
into semen. But the blood supplies the nutrient
materials for the cellular sustenance, growth
and upbuilding. And it is a fact, though *spermin',
the special substance of the semen, is found in
concentrated form in the testes and prostate, it
is found in a considerable quantity in the thymus,
milt, ovaries and the blood and plays an im-
portant role in the general oxidation of the
tissues and in the metabolic reduction of the
intermediate regressive albuminous substances
as leucomines into harmless products as urea. ^<
'Rasa' contributes to health, pleasant
countenance and nourishes the blood ; the blood
contributes to . the brightness of the skin,
nourishment of the flesh and keeps one alive ;,
fat contributes to the adipose tissues, perspiration,
hardihood and health of the bone ; the bone
keeps the bodily frame and nourishes the bone-
marrow ; the bone-marrow contributes to the
pleasant countenance, adipose tissues, strength
(of the body), increase of the semen and fills
the bone ; the semen contributes to the personal
bravery, • resistance to disease ( cJiyavana ),
* (A. Poehl : EinivirJcung des Spermins civfden Staffiimsatt. Ziiit.
fur klin. Med.. 1894, p. 135)
58 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
inclination to pleasure, physical strength and
reproductive power. Susruta 1.15. 6 '.
**^i^lesma' (lymph) is produced in the intestine,
sweet and cool ; from the sweetness, viscosity,
and humidity from the digested food." Susruta
1. 21. l7»^
**'^lesma* is white (chyle in the lacteal, es-
pecially after the heavy ingestien of fat), heavy
and cool ; when it is unoxidized (avidagdha in
the lacteal and in the thoracic duct, still in the
condition of chyle), it is sweet, hut when oxi-
dized, it is alkaline." Susruta I. 21. 19'**.
^lesma *'lubricates joints (snovia)^ is fattening,
liealing, flesh-giving, causes growth, refreshing
through moistening, strengthening, adds to the
thickness of the subcutaneous fat, and thus 'slesma'
doing five functions according to the position,
benefits the body.'* Susruta I. 15. 5"^.
f^m^' '?^: H^^ I 'i^^ ^^ €■? ^ Tm^ ^*^M*ii\m ^Tttf?T i
29. 5RTWr?t ftrf^^^T^ ^iR f^c^ -m^ ^ I
20. $^T ^^ T5'. f'ng: ftrf^^; sitci q^ ^ I
PHYSIOLOGY 59
That by ^slesma* or 'kapha^^ lymph was under-
stood, is proven by the fact that Susruta describes
in tlie vascular system (III. 7. 1-13) the tubular
lymph-vessels with arteries, veins and nerves and
that his *5/^s»za' corresponds to the synovial lymph,
is corroborated by this passage : — "As it works
well, if oil or fat is applied to the axle of a
carriage wheel, so the 'slesma* acts in the joints
of the living beings." III. 4. 15' ^
IT. Circulation
The lymph is a colorless liquid found in the
lymph vessels as well as the extravascular parts
of the body, having almost the same constituents
as the blood-plasma. The lymph is at least in
part the mediator in the exchange of constituents
between the blood and the tissues. Throughout
the entire body, there is a rich supply of blood
vessels penetrating every tissue with the excep-
tion of the epidermis and epidermal structures
as the nails and hair. In the ground-work of the
tissue, there is space and this interstitial space
is filled with lymph and thus all the tissue
elements, in fact, may be regarded as being bathed
32. #f i«r?f ?jsrT era "^ ^TH ^^^ '
60 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
in lymph. From this fluid the cell takes th&
necessary nutrients dissolved in it, and into it
the cell discharges its waste products. In the
interstitial space, the lymph freely intercommuni-
cates, finally connecting with a number of fine
tubes — the lymphatics, through which excess of
fluid, tissue wastes, pathogenic germs and their
products are drained ofl^. The lymphatics like
the blood-vessels freely anastomose, thus forming
large trunks which finally empty their contents
in the main venous trunks at both the junctions
of the jugular and subclavian veins» In the
course of the lymphatics, there are numerous
adenoid structures (lymph-glands) which act as a
filter as the fluid passes through them, retaining
all the pathogenic germs, their deleterious
products as well as various excretory products,
which the lymph-glands either destroy or make
them comparatively harmless.
The flow of the blood-plasma into interstitial
space, where it is known as the lymph, is
governed by the principles of pressure, filtration,
diffusion, osmosis and the relative permeability
of the capillary walls. The intracapillary
pressure tends to filter the plasma through the
endothelial cells composing the walls of the
capillaries ; the force of diffusion arises from
PHYSIOLOGY 61
the inequality of the chemical composition of the
blood-plasma and the interstitial fluid ; osmosis
from different molecular concentration and
relative permeability according to the regional
capillary structure.
Though lymph lacks any central heart system
as the blood vessels, the flow of its circulation is
perhaps regulated by the relative pressure-level
from the higher tensien in the capillaries to lower
in the lymphatic space and in the minute vessels
considerably much greater than in the larger
ones as in the veins, and as this difference of
pressure is the cause of the flow of venous blood
from the capillaries to the heart. This flow may
be accelerated by other factors. The lymphatics
are provided with muscular wall of automati-
cally oscillating tanus under the influence of
special vascular nerves and as with each systolic
efflux, there is an increased pressure of the
arterial flow, muscular and nervous dilation
which make the perivascular lymphatic valves
act like tiny pumps, accentuating the momentum
of the centripetal evacuation of the contents.
Perhaps inspiration also exerts a sucking action
by positively lowering the pressure at the sub-
clavian vein in which the thoracic duct
empties its contents.
62 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
The lymph fluid is not uniform m composi-
tion in every part of the body. The lymph
originates from three sources : (a) by filtering
from the blood through the capillary wall;
(b) from exudation of the tissues with their
anabolic and catabolic wastes ; (c) the digested
nutrient solution which is absorbed by the
lymphatic roots of the intestinal villi and which
is known as the chyle.
The composition of the lymph, therefore, is
variable. In the lacteals, the lymph mixed
with the chyle has often after the ingestion of
heavy fat and protein, a milky white appearance
and contains a good deal of sugar. The lymph
which flows from the fistula of the thoracic duct,
is a watery, slightly opalescent fluid. In the
capillary lymph-space and in the large serous
cavities as the peritoneum, pleura, pericardium,^
tunica vaginalis of testicles, where there is
always a sufiicient quantity of the lymph to
keep the walls lubricated and moistened, it is a
colorless liquid, almost like water, but decidedly
alkaline.
The lymph does not coagulate as easily as the
blood. But it contains fibronogen and in case
there is any rupture of the lymphatic, it
readily clots so that no serious damage be done
PHYSIOLOGY 68^
to the tissues. But unlike the blood, the lymph
contains a very few corpuscles. Platelets and
functions {thrombocytes) are always absent ;
the red-corpuscles {erythrocytes) are met with on
very rare occasions ; but the leucocytes — the
wandering cells, are always found, though
smaller in size and fewer in number. Perhaps
the leucocyte through its ameboid movement
traverses through the capillary membrane and
enters into the lymph-stream and acts as useful
scavenger and devourer of any pathogenic germ
that might have gained access in the tissues ;
or the leucocyte may be produced in the lympha-
tic glands and enter into the arterial circulation
when the lymph trunks empty their contents at
the junctions of the jugular and subclavian veins
and are carried to the heart. In the blood the
leucocytes are seen larger and with developed
phagocytic power for the reason that the blood
contains opsonin and alexin which sensitize the
pathogenic micro-organisms, thus facilitating
phagocytosis. The destroyed germs are dissolved
in the biood, increasing thus the protein content,
which is a* nourishing food to the leucocytes.
So lymph glands not only filter and purify
the lymph stream, they are ever watchful senti-
nels to catch and retain any dangerous marauder
M ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
that may be in the lymph torrent^ but also are
active synthetic laboratories for the origin and
development of the leucocytes. In this vital
work with the lymph-glands in the lympha-
tics, all the lymphoid adenoid bodies as the
spleen, bone-marrow and the thymus have their
important share. In malarial fever, it is a well
known fact that the spleen is enlarged. This
only means that the spleen is hyperactive,
destroying the minute protozoa that are attacking
the red-blood corpuscles and producing an excess-
ive number of leucocytes for the bodily defence.
This also explains that with the ablation or
total extirpation of the spleen, there is no serious
consequence or there is any marked reduction of
the leucocytes in the blood. The task of the
spleen is supplemented and functioned by the
bone-marrow and the numerous lymph-glands
which are numerous and are scattered either
single or in cluster all throughout the lympha-
tics.
On the whole the flow of the lymph is very
sluggish and much slower not only than the
arterial, but also than the venous blood.
Susruta also mentions twenty-four 'dhamanV
and passage of some other liquids in the
body. But he does not confound 'dhamauV
PHYSIOLOGY 65
■
with 'slra* (vascular system) like Charaka (I. 30.
10). He says : "There are some who say that
dhctmam and si'ota are not different from the
sh'a (vascular system). But this is not just ;
dkamam and srota are difPereiit from the
*sira. For the characteristics of the ^srota'
and ^dJiamam, differ from those of ^sira* How ?
Eor the 'siras* have main central trunks and
their action is also otherwise. In the medical
science, they are mentioned separately. Only
because they are situated close to each other,,
they are minute and there is some similarity in
their action, therefore in spite of their dissimilar
activities, they are often confounded with each
other. Smruta III. 9. 2^^.
''There are two vital streams — S7'0ta : their
main bearers {mTdasthana) are the heart and
chyle-carrying tubes (lacteals and thoracic duct);,
if they are penetrated (by any wound), involun-
tary cries, syncope, hallucination, illusion and
trembling appear and death might even take
33. =^gf^"3i^w^ 'nfiwT^ ^f^cTT: i cm ff^f : fs!!?:!^?^^-
'^^T^rf^vrFi:, 'f^i^^TT 'j^ >?^t^*. ^tcTtftf =^f?n cmfj t^^ws
5
66 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
place. AUmeatary canals are two and their
bearers are the intestine and the lacteals : if
they are penetrated, pain, loss of appetite, vomit-
ing, thirst, blindness or immediate death take
place. Serous {udaka) tubes are two and their
bearers are 'talu' (between the meningeal mem-
branes surrounding the central nervous system)
and the 'hloma' {plem^a) ; if they are penetrated,
thirst and immediate death take place. Chyle-
carrying tubes are two and their main bearers
are the heart and the chyle-carrying vessels
(the lacteals and the thoracic duct) ; if they are
penetrated, there is edema or immediate death
with symptoms the same as if the heart and the
main arteries are wounded. The blood-vessels
are two (the hepatic artery and the portal vein)
and their main bearers are the liver and the
spleen, and the blood-vessels ; if the sources of
the two vessels (the liver and the spleen) are
penetrated, there are paleness of the skin or
jaundice, fever, burning sensation, bleeding and
redness of the nose. Streams of circulating
protein [mamsaoaha) are two and their main
sources are ligaments, skin and the blood-vessels;
if their main sources are penetrated, edema,
emaciation, vascular obstruction and even death
might take place. The urine-bearing tubes are
PHYSIOLOGY 67
two, the bladder and the penis ; if their main
sources are penetrated, there are suppression of
the urine in the bladdea.', anuria and paralysis
(insensibility) of the penis. The feces-carrying
tubes are two ; their sources are the intestine
and the anus ; if they are penetrated, there are
constipation, offensive odor, and the tying down
of the entrails (ant?^a-ihe bowel). The seminal
tubes are two : their sources are the mamma
and the testicles ; if they are penetrated impo-
tence, difficulty in seminal discharge take place.
The ovarian {m-'ftava-vaha) tubes are two : their
sources are the matrix and the ova-carrying
tubes (the ovi-ducts — Fallopian tubes) ; if they
are penetrated, sterility, pain in copulation and
amenorrhea take place." Susruta III. 9. 12^*.
34. cfTf^T g ^TWt^^'^':^>'n^Ct^^H^^^^^^Tf^. ^f^wR
Tj^^t ^.fH I ^i^Ejt M^iT ^^•. I cm irmw t, cT^'^ f ??i' ^^•
^5^ C crqt^^?n3!^S^Tff^^ V[?W. ; cTW f^^F^TTsf ^^rraw '^
■^^!^\ ; cT^ ^W^ ^^: iRiii^f Fii;^^ 'T'^a' cif^TTf^ ^ \ ^m^^ fy
68 ANCIEN^T HINDU MEDICINE
Here of course Susruta has used 'srota' in
the generic sense of what are described in
modern anatomy as tubes, ducts, canals and
cavities.
III. — The Nervous System
*'The normal 'vai/?t' (nervous system) is the
regulator of the physical mechanism. The
nerves are of five kinds, 'Prana^ apana^ samana^
ndana and vymta* It carries out the physical
attempts (muscular contractions), 'reveals the
senses and is the carrier of the sense-perceptions
as the impression, taste, smell, touch and hear-
ing. It is the strengthener of the bodily ele-
ments {dhatu) and the co-ordinator of the bodily
organs. It activates speech, bases of sound and
hearins? and is the main cause of the consciousness
^ ^, cT^t^^' ««ii1eai =^ ; fTW f^Fir^ ^^FRT'i 1%'mFrfTT flT^^:
'^ ; cT^ far^^ WkcTT f^m fl^^ T^^^kIT "^ i ^^^ f, cTqt-
PHYSIOLOGY 69
of sound and touch. It is the source of pleasure
and cheerfulness. It increases the digestive
fire and eliminates from the body all the waste-
products." Clmrcika 1. 12. 7^".
"The *prana* nerves {cerehrosinncW) are locat-
ed in the brain^ thorax, ears, tongue, face and
nose. Spitting, sneezing, vomiting, respiration
and digestion are the functions of the *prana-
vayu'. ^Udana' nerves (cervical, thoracic and
brachial plexus) are located in the umbilicus,
thorax and in the neck ; speaking, exertions,
heat, strength and complexion are its activities.
*Samana* nerves {vasodilator) are located in the
sudoriferous glands and ducts, and in the
lymphatics ( animt. ) It beiug situated by the
side of the digestive fire (bileduct ?), it increases
digestive fire. 'VyamC (motor) nerves are spread
over the entire body. Their conduction is very
rapid. By ^vyZtna' nerves, walking, extension,
movements of the hands and feet, contraction
70 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
(of muscles), the twinkling of the eyes and other
activities are accomplished. Apana (automatic
or sympathetic) nerves are located in the testi-
cles, bladder, reproductive organs, umbilicus
(abdomen), knee, hip and the anus. The apana
nerves residing in the bowels, cause the elimi-
nation of semen, urine and feces and the expul-
sion of the ova and the fetus." Chai^aka VI.
28. 4-9^ ^
"The brain is the centre of the senses."
Susriita III. 3. 18 *'.
"The ten nerves {dhamam) of the upper.
36. ^5^ ^\^mi 5ffjqt^:^'!i''^¥rer^Tf%^T: i
^FrR^g ^\4,■m', ^'tHi snr^^^: ii
'^snqrtf^i*^ '^ f^Ti ^i^fwra % II
37. r3Kt^[^T^f fe^rr'UT^ i
PHYSIOLOGY 71
extremities, by activating sound, touch, impres-
sions, taste, smell, respiration^ sighing, yawning,
hunger, laughing, speech, and crying, maintain
the body. •••Two (auditory) carry sound; two
(optic) carry impressions ; two (lingual) carry
taste and two (olfactory) carry smell. By two
man speaks, by two makes (vocal) sound, by two
he is asleep and by two he is awakened."
Susruta III. 9. 4^^
'*Man sleeps when sense-organs cease to
operate, being tired by the fatigue of the mind."
CharaJca 1. 21. S5'\
"Memory is caused by the following eight
causes : — Erom the cause of impressions, (their)
similarities and dissimilarities, co-ordination of
the mind, practice, consciousness, concentration
(of attention), what is remembered from repeti-
38. gjfiTT: ?I^*q^*PK€'T3\^5f^IHt^ T^iT^fw^lf^fral^iKr^f^cn^^
3y. g^ ^^T^ wt^ w^lm^: «R^Tf^m: i
72 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
tion of sight, hearing or perception (as tasting or
smelling ), is called the memory." Charaka
IV. 1. 117-I18*\
"The side-way four ( cutaneous ) nerves,
branching into hundreds and thousands, they
have become countless. They open in the hair
follicles by which they carry the sweat {sveda)
and sebaceous secretion {rasa). By these secre-
tions the internal and external body is moistened
and refreshed... By them the pleasure and pain
of touch are felt." Susruta III. 9. 8*\
l^^T^ifrTTSTt ^T^TfT ^»3f??^^^ Ill
ct't^f^fcRfsi" ^^ JIcH 5T y«1<l'lMT: II
^^ H^^T^M+Jci«^^^ ^WW'. I
^i^tfTw': ^m^ ^^'^'Tf'^^ =^ra^ II
«iT«^mT: IF
• PHYSIOLOGY 73
"The waste-products {mala) of digested e«li-
ment, are the feces and the urine ,of lymph
mucous exudation, of blood, the bile, of flesh,
as the wax in the ear-tube (sebaceous secretions),
of fat the sweat, of bones the nails and hair, of
bone-marrow wax in the eye-pits, and of the skin
oil (sebaceous fatty secretion). SusrutalA^.b^O*"^.
Kapha ( lymph ), pitta ( bile = oxidation ) and
^ayu (air = nerves) maintain the body as the moon,
the sun and the air vitalize the earth by their
activities of humidity (of the moon), heat (of the
sun) and the conduction of heat and cold ( by
the air current). SiisnUa 1.21. 8^^,
The above quotations tend to prove that the
ancient Hindu schools of medicine believed that
the body was nourished by the lymph and the
blood formed out of the chyle during its passage
within the liver and the spleen, was the medium
of circulation and the nerves acted as the conduc-
tor of sense-perceptions of which the brain was
the centre.
In the Hippocratic writings we find almost
42. ■^^\ fqTT ?T^: % #^: ^I^IsTOT =^ I
43. ft^JiT^Hf^^q : €t*T^|5rrr*i^ ^^^^\ i
74) ANCIENT HINDI! MEDICINE
similar views, though with less clearness and
positive assertions. In 'peri physios mithropoy*'
4-5( = the nature of man), there are four ground
principles — the hlood (aima), phlegm {phler/ma),
yellow bile {cholen xanthen) and black bile
{cholen melainan)^ which are described to be mixed
and to circulate in the body. In the *peri noison
to tefarton=t\ie fourth book of the Maladies 33),
only bile is mentioned without any qualification
and for the othes bile^ water {iidrops) is substituted.
"The sources for the blood are the heart, for
the phlegm the brain, for the water the
spleen, for the bile a section of the liver.*' 33.
They are introduced into the system with
the ingested food and drink, containing
these principles ( per^i noisoji IV. 35-38). Many
glands {peri r^c?(?;^o^^ = glands 1-10) as the
tonsil, mamma, lymphatic ganglions in the neck,
arm-pit and groin as well as the brain, have been
mentioned but not the pancreas, testicles or
ovaries. The function of the glands is to absorb
the superfluous liquid in the body and thus to
preserve the bodily equilibrium. The largest
and the most important gland par ^excellence
was supposed to be the brain and its func-
tion was to pump and distribute the liquid in all
.parts of the body according to the organic needs.
PHYSIOLOGY 75
Galen distinguished between the arteries and
the veins. According to him the blood was
formed in the liver and it was sent to the heart
for the distribution in all parts of the body after
the YolsLtWized 'pnetima' (air = the spirit = the soul)
has been separated. The 'pjieuma' mixed w^ith
the air brought from the lungs, becomes the
vital essence of life (animal spirit) and from th&
brain, circulates to all parts of the body with the
nerves. Before Galen it was believed that the
vital spirit (pnettma = a,[r) circulated in the
arteries, for arteries are always found empty
after death.
According to Charaka (IV. 7. 8) there are
eight handfuls {anjali) of blood and six of lymph
in a normal healthy human body. (Because the
body fluid constantly increases, or decreases, any
calculation by the 'anjali* measure can be but
conjectural). There are ten handfuls of water,
according to each individual's own measure — the
water that after absorption, becomes mixed with
feces, urine, blood and other materials of the
body ; which circulating in the system, nourishes
the outer skin ; which entering into the abscess
under the skin, is known as 'las'lkcl^; which being
evaporated by the heat of the body, is eliminated
as perspiration ; that water (udaJca = serovs fluid)
76 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
is ten liaiidfuls. The material that is first formed
out of the digested food and which is known as
the chyle, is nine handfuls. The blood is ei^ht
handful, feces seven, lymph six, bile five (or the
venous blood), urine four, 'vasa'' (serum of the
flesh) three, fat two, bone-marrow one, brain (or
brain-serum) half handful, semen half handful
and 'ojas' (prostate gland secretion) half handful."
Char aha IV. 7. 10**.
According to Foster {Physiology^ p. 49), "the
total quantity of blood in the human body is
about one thirteenth of the body weight." Howell
(Fhysiology, p. 458) says : "The ratio of weight
of blood to weight of body is in the dog 7. 7 per
cent ; rabbit and cat 5 p. c. ; birds 10 p c. ; in
man we have upon record two determinations
on guillotined criminals made by Bischoff, which
W^:, 'Rfe^^ ^tiWf%:, ■531^ flT^ IWP'I*, cTT^^ -«,1TWM'«
PHYSIOLOGY 77
gave 7. 7 and 7. 2 per cent. Haldane and
Smith however have devised a modification of
Grehant's caibon monoxide method, which they
have applied to living men. The results of
some 74 experiments gave them an average
value of only 5 per cent per man. The distri-
bution of this blood in the tissues of the body at
any time has been estimated by Ranke from
experiments on freshly killed rabbits, as follows :
spleen, 0. 23 p. c. ; brain and cord, 1. 24 p. c.;.
kidneys, 1. 63 p. C; skin, 2. 10 p. C; intestines,
6. 30 p.C; bones, 8. 24 p. c.;lieart, lungs and great
blood-vessels, 22. 76 p. c; resting muscles, 29. 20
p. c. ; liver, 29. 30 p, c."
The blood circulates in the tubular closed
vessels, for thereby the pressure is increased and
the time for completing the circulation is
reduced. "If we take 180 grams, as the quantity
in man, ejected at each stroke at a pressure of
250 mm. of mercury, which is equivalent to
3. 21 meters of blood, this means that the left
ventricle is capable at its systole of lifting 180
grams 3. 21 m. high, i. e. it does 578 gram-
meters of wt)rk at each beat. Supposing the j
heart to beat 72 times a minute, this would give
for the day's work of the left ventricle nearly
60,000 kilogram meters. Calculating the work
'78 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
of the right ventricle at one-fourth of the left,
the work of the whole heart during the day
would amount to 75,000 kilogram-meters."
Poster's Tliysiologij, p. 218.
The blood is the medium through which every
cell of the body is supplied with its nutritive
needs. In blood circulate the synthetized ele-
ments of the ingested food. In the capillaries,
the blood-plasma filters through and fills the
interstitial space, bathing every tissue in the
lymph-fluid, from which the cells extract the
nutritive materials they need for their sustenance
and growth and to which they discharge tlieir
waste products. Without blood-circulation there
can be no supply of the lymph fluid for the pre-
servation of the tissues. This is easily seen in
the occlusion of the main artery of the extremity
when putrefactive fermentation takes place of an
animal tissue still attached to the body, known as
tbuQ 'gangrene' with the production of gases as
sulphuretted Iiydrogen and volatilized fat, which
o"ives the bad odor and the iron-content of the
hemoglobin is precipitated into sulphide of iron
which imparts to the limb a range of colors com-
mencing in green and terminating in black.
In addition to supply the nutritive fluid to
the cells, the chief fimetion of the blood is to carry
PHYSIOLOGY 79
oxygen with hemoglobin, hormones and glandular
secretions for tissue respiration, oxidation, and
stimulation and in the intercellular oxidation,
heat of the body is generated. When the
oxygen of the blood is reduced and it comes back
to the heart through the veins to be sent to the
lungs, to be charged with oxygen, it is of purple
color, but wlien it is loaded with oxYE^en. it is
sparkle bright-red. The venous blood contains
many waste products of the cells, dissolved in it
as the amonium carbonate, urea, urates, xanthin
bases, carbonic acid as carbonates, cholesterin
and other substances.
Charaka and Susruta formed right conception
of the function of the blood and the lymph in
broad general outlines. Of course it was not
possible for them to know their complex func-
tional utilities in detail. Nor do we yet know.
But they thought that the nexves were also
tuberal vessels, through which flowed the
vital force of life, something too fine for the eyes
to see and which brought the sensory impressions
to the ceiatral nervous system for co-ordination
and carried* the motor impulses to the periphery.lt
, was invisible but mighty like the air which brings
heat and cold waves, storms and tempests {Charaka
1* 12. 6 ) or like blowing with bellows which in-
80 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
tensifies the fire of the furnace and which it was
compared to and identified with. But the exact
nature of the nerve impulse and the mode
of its conduction, is not yet completely understood.
It is usually compared with the electric current.
But the sensory and the motor nerves are differ-
ent, the sensory fibres only bring impressions to
the nerve-centre, while the motor only carry
them from the centre to the periphery. Yet his-
tological or chemical examination hardly reveals
any structural differentiation. Moreover the
propagation and the velocity of the nerve-force
depends on the nature and locality of the nerve-
fibre, the temperature and the pressure. The nerve-
fibre is one of the units of a nerve-trunk : it is
the axis-cylinder process of a neuron and is either
medullated, that is, surrounded by a white sub-
stance called myelin, or non-medullated ; either the
medullated or the non-medullated may or may not
be surrounded by the primitive sheath or neuri-
lemma, so that there are four forms of nerve-fibres^
The neuron is the cell unit of the nerve-fibre and
the neurons propagate their impulse by contact
of the dendrites, the terminal arborization round
the axon. The neurons also differ greatly in size,
shape and internal structure and they are general-
ly classified as the bipolar and multipolar cells.
PHYSIOLOGY ^ 8t
This structural variation explains the differ-
-ence in speed of nerve impulstion. Helmholtz
found that the motor nerve of a frog travels with
the velocity of 28 to 30 meters per second and the
researches of Piper indicated that the motor nerve
of a man travels at the velocity of 117 to 125
meter per second. There does not seem to be
^ny structural difference between two afferent or
efferent nerves, as for an example, between audi-
tory and olfactory, and in their mode of conduc-
tion and speed, and if they carry different impres-
sions and impulses, it is because their terminal
-endings have been developed to catch particular
impressions and the lobe in the brain has been
specialized as an economy to the system to receive,
co-ordinate and react only to special impulses.
It is just like two electric wires one of which
has been connected to ring the bell and the other
to make light.
By the specially adapted peculiar structure of
the retina, the vibrations of light (color-images =
rupa) can be focussed upon it, setting up nerve-
impulses that are transmitted by the fibres of the
optic nerve and optic track to the visual centre in
the cortex in the brain, which is situated in the
occipital lobes, for co-ordination, color-conscious-
ness and response to the stimuli. Total blindness
6
82 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
follows the removal of both occipital lobes. Bufc
if only one lobe is ablated or injured, there is a
partial blindness, affecting the symmetrical halves
of both eyes known as 'hemipicC ; the right one
influencing the two right halves of the eyes, and
the left one, the two left halves of the retinas.
The outer ear is so .constituted that whert
the vibrations of matter, the rapidly alternating
variations of pressure, what is commonly known
as the 'waves of sound', forced through the-
accoustic apparatus, strike against the auditory
e]>ithelium, richly supplied with the nerve-fibres^
of the cochlear branch, and the sensory impulse-
thus generated is carried over the auditory
nerve (eighth cranial nerve) and track to the^
auditory centre in the first convolution of the
'temporal auditory lobe,'; where auditory con-
sciousness is developed.
The taste {rasa) nerve-fibres are distributed
to parts of the buccal cavity and especially the
tongue, of which the most sensitive parts are the
tip, the borders, and the^ posterior portion of tha
dorsum in the circum vallate papillae, Xhe anterior
two-thirds of the tongue'are supplied with sensory
fibres from the lingual nerve ( a branch of the
fifth nerve) and the posterior third from the
glossopharyngeal. The nerve track has not
PHYSIOLOGY 8S
yet been definitely known, but it is supposed
to terminate in the hippocampal convolution^
posterior to the olfactory lobe. The gustatory
sensation is possibly complex. There are but
four fundamental taste sensations, —namely,,
sweet, bitter, acid, and salty and the rest are but
the combinations of these primary tastes, for
the experience of which we are dependent on
the terminal organs which are chiefly present
in the fungiform and circumvallate papillae.
And there are so many complex and multiple
junctions between the fifth nerve, the seventh
nerve and the glossopharyngyal nerve, by way of
the Vidian nerve, petrosal nerves, tymphanie
plexus, the otic and the splenopalatine ganglia,
that it is hard to determine, how the taste
sensation travels, but perhaps through the
chorda tympani nerve.
In the 7iasal septum and a portion of the
upper turbinate bone, the area corresponding
to about 250 square millimeters in each nostril^
there is a profuse distribution of the fibres of
the olfactory {gcmclha) nerve, in the shape of
elongated, epithelial like cells, each of which
bears on its end a tuft of six to eight hair-like
processes. And there are tiny glands which
keep the mucous always humid and moist.
83 ANCIENT HINDU iiEDICINB
Particles of odoriferous matters, carried in a
gaseous medium, namely the air, to the olfactory
epithelium, become dissolved in the thin layer
of fluid that keeps the nasal membrance moist-
ened and this peicoitues through and stimulat-
es the nerve-endings. But if the membrane be
too dry or the secretion be too abundant or
altered in quality, the power of smelling is
diminished and even may be wholly suspended.
The olfactory nerve terminates in the cortex
of the brain in the *cornu Ammonis and hippo-
campus.' The animals with highly developed
sense of smell possess a large ^limbic lobe.*
Some of the substances retain their odoriferous
quality even in minute dilution as camphor
1 : 400,000 ; musk 1 : 8,000,000 ; vanilin 1 :
10,000,000 parts.
The touch (sparsa) is a compound sensation
of pressure, warmth, cold and pain, through
ioar distinct kinds of nerve-fibres which are
not only richly distributed over the general
cutaneous surface, but also in the buccal and
rectal membranes. But the alimentary mem-
branes, or the superfacise in the interior of the
body are supplied with nerve-fibres of pain and
devoid of those of touch and temperature
sensations. Application of cocaine on the eye
PHYSIOLOGY 85
or throat paralyzes the feeling of pain and
pressure, but the sensations of heat and cold are
not influenced, • which proves that their nerve-
fibres are different and mediate through different
channels. It has been clinically observed that
the compression of the cords of the brachial
plexus, resulted in the insensiblity of the arm
to pressure and temperature, but not of pain.
And it is supposed the nerve-endings of pain
lie deeper than the tactile senses, which are-
superficial ; the former mediating through the
spinal cord and the latter through the posterior
funiculi, together with some of the fibres of the
muscle sense and they do not cross until after
tliey reach the medulla and perhaps they are
represented in the rolandic area.
The vocal sound or voice (ghosa) is distinct
from speech, which is an articulate sound to
express definite ideas. The apimals are endow-
ed with vocal power, but not with speech. And
there may be speech without voice as in whisper-
ing and voice without speech as in singing a
musical tone. The vocal organ, the larynx,
resembles ^to a great extent the siren in the
production of tone. The larynx is a framework
of cartilages, connected with elastic ligaments,
which are vocal cords, and it opens above into-
86 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the cavity of the pharynx and below into the
trachea or windpipe. With respiration, the
lung acts as bellows, pressing ti blast of air
through the thin tube of the windpipe and the
escaped air is modulated by the movable liga-
ments into various tones. The voice has three
characteristics, (1) 'loudness' which depends on
the force of the expiratory blast; (2) * fitch'
which depends on the rapidity of vibrations and
(3) the 'quality* which depends on the capacity
of the resonance chamber and the muscular
strength and pliability of the laryngeal liga-
ments (vocal cords). The alternate expansion
and contraction of the ligaments and muscles
of the larynx {glottis) are made by the bulbar
and recurrent laryngeal nerves. If any of
these nerves is destroyed, the rythmic widening
and narrowing automatically cease and the
glottis remains immobile and no voice (vocal
sound) can be produced.
There are four speech (bhascl) centers^ situat-
ed along the Sylvian fissure, in the left hemi-
■sphere for the right-handed and in the right
hemisphere for left-handed individj.ials. The
motor center for pronouncing and articulating
words, occupies the foot of the third frontal
convolution (left), immediately in front of the
* PHYSIOLOGY 87
centers of phonation, "utilized in speech. The
destruction of this center produces motor
aphasia (aphemia). In aphemia one is able to
hear and to understand when spoken to, and
is able to emit sound, to move the tongue and
the lips, hut he has lost his vocabulary, in other
words, the faculty to articulate words. But
if the injury is not complete, that is, in partial
aphemia, the patient can utter a few incoherent
words and syllables according to the nature of
the lesion. The center for auditory images,
that is, for comprehending spoken words,
occupies the posterior fourth of the first tempo-
ral convolution (left). The destruction of this
<;enter causes sensory aphasia (word-deafness).
In sensory aphasia, one can hear the voice, as
the faculty of hearing is not affected, but he
can not understand the spoken words, and the
words are to him mere sounds and do not express
any idea. The center for visual graphic images,
that is, for distinguishing written or printed
words, occupies the left angular gyrus(posterior
inferior ,part of the left parietal lobe). The
destruction of this center causes alexia (word-
blindness). In alexia, one can not read even
his own writing, although his vision and intelli-
gence are not affected and he can see the form
9
88 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICIEN
of the letters, but has lost the faculty of
comprehending ideas, expressed through those
words. The center for the faculty of writing,
is situated at the foot of the second frontal
convolution and the destruction of this center
produces the inability to write {agraphia). In
agraphia, one has lost his faculty of expressing
his ideas in writing or any graphic form.
Agraphia is usually associated in clinical
experience with motor aphasia (aphemia).
Sleep {nidra) is evidenced by the cessation
of sensory-motor reaction. Various hypotheses
have been advanced to explain the causation
of sleep. (1) Cerebral anemia was suggested
by the old writers ; but it is rather the effect
than- the cause of it. (2) Hyposecretion of the
thyroid due to the inhibitive action of the
accumulative waste products during waking
hours and the hyper-secretion of the pituitary
body ; but in myxedema, drowsiness is not
constant, nor is there any proof that in hypnotic
or epileptic somnolence, there is any increased
secretion of hypophysis, or diminished secretion
of the thyroids. (3) Osmotic theory of Devaux,
which tries to explain sleep due to the increased
viscocity of blood, through dehydration, is not
bsustantiated by observation, as in privation of
PHYSIOLOGY 89
water — in thirst, the nervous system is rather
irritated. (4) Chemico-toxic theory enjoys a
hotter reputation. The accumulated tissue-
waste products as lactic acid, cholesterine,
leucomaine, exercise an inhibitory action on tho
cerebral activity, either paralyzing the centre
directly, through intoxication or indirectly by
reflex vaso-constriction. (5) Accumulation of
carbonic acid which has an extreme avidity for
oxygen, reduces the minimum ratio of free
oxygen, necessary for the central nervous activi-
ties. (6) Consumption of the intramolecular
oxygen causes cerebral asphyxia, which is
expressed as sleep, as during the waking hours,,
the brain cells use up their store of oxygen more
rapidly than it can be replenished by absorption
from blood ; the consequence is that for lack of
respiration, the brain-cells can not react to th&
sensory stimuli and gradually losing conscious-
ness, store up sufficient oxygen through the-
anabolic process to be awakened up again. (7)
The neuron theory tries to explain sleep on the
histological principle that the nerve track is
not contiguous like the electric wire, but
composed of the cell-units (neuron) which,
transmit their impulse from one to the other by
their contact through the interlacings of dendrid-
90 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
ed and terminal arborizations, and when tliere
is sufficient accumulation of fatigue products,
the dendrides contract and retract, so that the
nerve-path being broken and the brain being
automatically relieved from sensory stimulation,
sleep is mechanically produced. But it has not
yet been proved that the dendride processes are
contractile enough as to lose all connections with
the neighborly cells. (8) A central nervous
mechanism produces sleep, not* as a result of
asphyxiation, toxins or neuro -toxins {Bouchard,)^
but to prevent them and to protect the brain-
cells from the evil effect of their further
accumulation, so that during enforced involun-
tary rest, the obnoxious products can be elimina-
ted and the brain-cells can be refreshed and
revitalized through the anabolic process (the
income of energy being more than its expendi-
ture)— as an economic accommodation to self-
preservation. If the sleep is deep, profound and
undisturbed, it will take less time than other-
wise to oxygenate, tonicize, recuperate and
vitalize the brain-cells for the resumption of
their activities of sensory-motor co-ordination
and reaction.
B-unger and thirst {Jcsut-pipasa) sensations
are mediated, probably through the nerve endings
PHYSIOLOGY 91
in the stomach and pharynx. Normal hunger is
^ known as the appetite and it is not yet definitely
determined whether this impression is conveyed
by sensory fibres, distributed to the mucous
membrane of the stomach or of the muscular
coat. When the stomach is empty, these peri-
pheral nerve-endings are excited. That it has
nothing to do with nutritive needs of the orga-
nism, is evidenced by the fact that when water
or indigestible substances are taken in to fill the
stomach, the hunger sense is allayed. Prom this,
it can be concluded that hunger is agastric sense.
Of course, when there is a general tissue hunger
for lack of nutrition, a general nervousness and
discomfort are experienced, due to the resultant
nervous excitation. The water needs of the body
are experienced through the fibres of the glosso-
pharyngeal nerve as an end organ of thirst, for
we know, that if the pharynx is dried up either
by salty or saccharine food, dried air or dust, at
once there is a sensation of thirst, though there
may be no bodily need for it and it can be ap-
peased by removing the irritant substances and
moistening, the spot. It is possible that when
the tissues give up their storage of reserve- water
to compensate the loss of the blood, it constantly
incurs through respiration, perspiration and
92 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
urination, there is a general call for supply of
water, and it first expresses the demand through
the excitahility of the glossopharyngeal nerve,,
and if it is extreme through general nerve excita-
tion and irritation, as in tissue hunger.
Sweat ( sveda ) is the secretion of the sudori-
pareous glands, of which, there are nearly two-
millions ( Krause ), distributed all over the cuta-
neous surface, except the glans penis, prepauce
and the deeper portion of the external auditory
meatus. It is known that with vaso-dilation, their
secretion is increased. But it can he also produced.
independently, directly through the excitation of
the nervous mechanism, as is seen in strong^
emotion, cold-sweat of phthisis and other diseases,,
when the skin is in anemic state. The stimula-
tion of the sciatic nerve in cat, has been demon-
strated to produce profuse sweating on the
hairless balls of the feet. But when an animal with
sciatic nerve divided on one side, is made dyspenic^
no sweat appears on the hind limb of that side,,
though there is abundance in the other, thus-
clearly proving a central nervous mechanism,
regulating sweat-glands as vaso-d.ilation. It
seems that picrotoxin and strychnia induce
sweating action by influencing the central
nervous system while nicotin induces perspira-
PHYSIOLOGY
tion by acting both centrally and peripherally.
As histologically and anatomically the nerve-fibers
i)f the sweat glands and the vaso-constrictors
resemble very closely, it is reasonable to
presume, that like the latter, the central nervous
regulator of the sweat glands is in the medulla.
Sebum {rasa) a semiliquid oily material, that
Is secreted by the sebaceous glands, distributed
all over the cutaneous surface, chiefly associated
with the hair follicle, but also without it as in
the glans penis, lips and the deeper portions of
the external auditory meatus, is meant possibly
to protect the skin from bacterial invasion, and
to prevent the hair from being brittle. Sebum
on exposure to air forms a waxy cheesy mass as
is seen in the comedones from the occlusion of
the ducts, or in the glans penis ( Smegma
preputti ) or in the auditory meatus (cerume?i =
ear-wax ) and it contains fats, soaps, cholesterin,
albuminous material ( casein like ), remnants of
epithelial cells and inorganic salts. As the
sebaceous secretive activites are associated with
vaso-dilation, it is presumed that their nervous
^nechanism is the same, although sebum by its
oil coating over the skin prevents the undue loss
of heat as well as prevents the undue absorption
of moisture. Vaso-dilation and vaso-constriction
94 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
are regulated by the nerve-fibres belonging to
the sympathetic or automatic nervous system.
Meat { iisma ) is produced as a reaction of the
intracellular oxidation or vital process and
absorbed in the blood, it is conveyed to every
part of the body to preserve the temperature
equilibrium of the hot-blooded animaL Eor heat
is being constantly lost from the body through
radiation (conduction), evaporation (perspiration
from the skin), respiration ( vaporization of water
through lungs ), and with urine and feces. If
there is excess of heat, it is conducted to the
periphery and is radiated with sweat by vaso-
dilation. If on the other hand, the surrounding air
is cold and the body needs to conserve its heat,
there is vaso- constriction so that the escape of
heat is reduced, as well as the production of heat
is stimulated by increased oxidation. In cold-
blooded creatures as fish, amphibia, reptiles or
in the hibernating animals ( poikilothennos ),
either the oxidizing process is not yet intense
as in the former, or the heat-regulating mechanism
is absent or poorly developed as in the latter,
and the consequence is that their body tempera-
ture fluctuates with that of the surroundings.
While the hot blooded animal ( homoiotherinotis )
keeps relatively a constant temperature
' PHYSIOLOGY 95'
independent of the surroundings. There is
every reason to believe that the heat-regulating
mechanism ( tissue-oxidation for the prduction
of heat, conservation of heat through vaso-
constriction, and radiation of heat through
vaso-dilation ) is controlled bj^ a nervous center,
which perhaps is situated either in the pons or
medulla.
III. PATHOLOGY
*' Whatever causes pain, is a disease (vt/adhi).
Diseases are of four kinds : accidental or
mechanical (agcmtti), physical {sarira ), mental
(manasa)^ and natural (svdbhavika). Diseases
caused by injuries are ^agantu' ; of alimentary
origin and by the derangement of the nervous,
venous, lymphatic and arterial systems, ^mr'ira^ ;
through anger, sorrow, fedr, joyousness, sadness,
jealousy, concentration of mind, misery,
haughtiness, greed, envy, desires and longings,
'mdnasd' ; hunger, thirst, senility, sleep and
death, are 'natural' diseases". Susrutal.l. 20*** .
"Again, the diseases originate from seven
sources as follows: hereditary (adivala), maternal
(janniavala), alimentrry (dosavala), mechanical
(samghatavcda), physical ( kdlavala = seasonal ),
> PATHOLOGY 97
contagious {daivavala), and natural (svahhavavala)
Susruta I, 24j. 4*'.
*'The diseases that are transmitted througli the
lesion in the sperm or the ovum of the parents,
are hereditary, as *ktistha' ( leprosy — there is
every reason to belive that the syphilic eruption
of the skin and ulceration were regarded as
varieties of leprosy) and'am^' (hemorrhoids). The
hereditary diseases are of two kinds and might
come either from father or mother's side.
"The diseases that are produced through the
improper regimen (cifpacA«r« = wrong food and
injurious exercise ) of the mother ( during the
intra-uterine life of the fetus) are called maternal
as born — lame, blind, deaf, mute, ^minmina' (one
who speaks with a hissing nasal accent, due to
overgrowth of adenoid tissue in the rhino-
pharynx) and the dwarf. These diseases
( acquired during the intra-uterine life ) are
caused by either) mother's (defective) circulation
{rasakrta) or miserable living.
"The diseases that are produced through
impropeu food and living, or (reacting through
^iR't^MjTti sinict^H^Tii ^q^^rjfwm: b'^ct^^itiitit: ^^^^n^tii
98 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
digestion) anxiety, are ^alimentary\ Alimentarj
diseases are of two kinds — gastric and intestinal
occasioned by physical causes (as improper food
and living) or mental causes (as anxiety, fear or
nervous excitement).
"(The diseases occasioned by) the injuries
struck with force on the weak, are *mechanicaV
whether by instruments or by ferocious
animals.
"The diseases that are producd by cold, heat,
wind and rain, are ^physicaV , whether (they)
are natural or unnatural.
*'The diseases that are produced by the
tyranny of the gods (through thunder and
lightning), through curses ( phobia ), sorceries
of the Atharva-veda ( infectious diseases ), and
through contagion ( syphilis ) are ddiva-vala
(god-sent, i. e. beyond human control ). These
diseases are of two kinds as occasioned by
thunder-lightning or by demons ( infectious
diseases as cholera or small-pox ). And again
they are of two kinds — through accident ( as
thunder-lightning ) or through contact ( as
syphilis ).
"Hunger, thirst, senility ( old-age ), sleep and
death etc. are natural diseases. They are of two
kinds — timely or untimely. They can be cured
N PATHOLOGY 9&
■vyhen they are untimely ( i. e. if there is hunger,
thirst or premature senility, when there is no
reason for it, they are proper subjects for treat-
ment ), but not so when they are timely."
Stisruta 1, 24, 5-7*'.
"In addition to ( parasitic ) animalcules ( that
cause disease), there are twenty kinds of microbes
( hrimi ) divided into four classes." Charaka III,
7. 6*^
**The origin of the microbes of the blood-
vessels ( veins ), is like that of leprosy. Their
46. cT^if^^fwm t ipT^tf<Uci<^mHiii: irw^in'^cra: ; tsftr f^ff^:
^^csn^, H'T^ f^f^i: ^nt\x[ tpwt^ i '??i ^sfi^if^^: iia,
^*TT^^^WFf?T: =5rrf^WT5Wf^t^T?TiR^^: ; ^sft f^f^: <*i'Ji9ifiT '^rara-
100 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
habitat is the hlood-vessels. They are very-
minute, globular and without feet. Many of
them are so minute that they are invisible."
Charakalll. 7. 7*^
Pathology or the science of disease, has up to
the last century, been rather vague owing to
the complexity of reaction of the pathogenic
agents upon the living matter. Bacteriology is
entirely a modern science. A few years ago it
was not even suspected that infectious diseases
are due to the intervention of morbific microbic
agents. Their very existence was not even
known. Microscopy and chemical reagents have
but recently revealed the most interesting
teeming world of animalcules, which though
invisible to the naked eye, are no less potent
adversaries of the living beings, and there is a
constant struggle between life and these invisible
foes, to which it ultimately succumbs, and in
spite of the relentless war of science for the last
generation, it has not been able, but partially,
to conquer and to control them. Even the
diseases that we call organic, as tbe cardiac
48. aHHiiri^i'ii'*! lit: wm^ *iiitm'\M i ^srnff ?:s«iir?^ >nT^:
PATHOLOGY 10 1
affection, or metabolical as gout, may be the
manifestations of the accumulated reactions of
pathogenic germs, which have disappeard long
ago, as pueumococci and gonococci respectively.
This is clearly seen in tabes dorsalis, as a sequel
of syphilis, after twenty or thirty years of infec-
tion.
The ancient conception of disease was based
more or less on humoral pathology, i. e. disease
originated from the derangement of the humors
and it was the function of the diet and medicine
and proper living, to bring them back to their
normalcy and equilibrium. According to the
Hindu schools of medicine, there were three fun-
damental humors {vayu^ pitta^ kapha), according
to the Greek, four (blood, phlegm, bile and water
by some, yellow and black biles by others) in the
human body. ^VayiC is the active principle
like the wind, which brings hot and cold M^aves ;
*pitta^ is the heat principle like the sun ; and the
*kapha^ is the cold principle like the moon, whose
beams were reputed to exercise a very soothing
and beneficial influence on plant life, in
contradistinction of the sun's rays which were
supposed to have a scorching effect, as it usually
happens in an arid tropical climate. {Snsruta 1.
21. 8 ). As for the luxuriant vegetable life and
102 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
growth, all these three elements in their right
proportion are necessary, and excess of either,
heat, cold or wind, is injurious to the plant, as
in the animal kingdom.
However fanciful and grotesque this appears
at the first glance to the moderner, it is not
really so when it is seen with clear perspective
and sharp analysis. It is true that concrete facts
and statements appeal more to reason than
vague generalization and abstract philosophy.
But by close observation it will be easily observed
that their *myu^ pitta, kapha' correspond, to what
is expressed in vulgar terminology, as *nervous,
sanguine and phlegmatic temperaments and
which can be translated into medical nomencla-
ture as ^hypermetabolism, normal metabolism
and hypometabolism/ The following citations
tend to lead to the aforesaid conclusion : —
*'Tlie bodily oxidation ( agni) is classified into
four kinds according to its activities as follows : —
hyper-( tlksna ), hypo-( manda ), normal (sama)
and abnormal ( visama ). Of them ( one
of ) hypermetabolism is able to bear all abuses
( i. e possesses a great resisting power against
infection ) ; hypometabolism has its opposite
qualities ; normal metabolism becomes ( easily )
upset by abuse, but without abuse, remains
PATHOLOGY 103
natural ; abnormal metabolism has the opposite
>qi|alities of the normal,." Charaka III. 6. 6*'.
"These four kinds of oxidation pertain to man.
Those who have vayu, pitta, kapha, in propotion
( equal ), enjoy normal oxidation. In the case of
those who have predominance of vata ( nervous
temperament ), oxidation beomes abnormal
by association with vai/ti. In those who have
predominance of pitta ( sanguine temperament ),
oxidation becomes accentuated by its
association (hyper-oxidation). In those who have
predominance of * slesma' ( phlegmatic tempera-
ment ), their oxidation becomes lowered by its
association ( hypo-oxidation )." Charaka III. 6.
**The dominant qualities at the time of union of
twn vR'rij^: I ftHMT^pg f^Tiifk*?^ n^ftt^i^ ^Nut *{^^i^: i
i^rami^ tiiT^jj^t "§r^rrfw% t^t »t^^^: i =^T^€"%fTr, ^^m-
104 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE '
the sperm with ovumj are inhorn (with the baby),
as temperament {prakrti). Stisruta III. 4. 48 ^^
"The man of nervous ( vata ) temperament,
is sleepless ( jagaruka ), sensitive to cold, ill-
tempered, exclusive ( s^<?wa = thievish ), haughty,
unmannerly («w^r?/« = un-arian), fond of music,,
songs, dance and arts ( gandharvachitta ), whose
hands and feet are long, whose beard, hair and
nails are very dry, who is excitable (Jcrodhalu—
angry) and strike people with hand and nails. That
person is impatient, whose friendship is unstable,
( who is ) ungrateful, thin, violent, whose veins
show out throughout his body, (who is) garrulous,
who walks fast, is fond of walking and is fickle-
minded." Stisnifa III 4. 59^".
"The man of sanguine temperament ( pitta )
perspires freely, smells come from his body (from
volatile oil ), his body has the yellowish color
^FW, 8, V=^ I
f
ScHlfeiii'l^i'mr^clloHT fel^R l^fff ^'«rt^ W- II 'Q^fT^'f^^TT,-
^ PATHOLOGY 105
and is relaxed ; and his nails, eyes, forehead,
tongue, cheeks, and palms of hands and soles of
feet are copper-colored ( indications of good
circulation of hlood ) ; he becomes repugnant
when he gets wrinkled ( vali ), gray-haired
( palita ) and bald-headed ( hhcilitya ) : he is a
voracious eater, sensitive to heat and he becomes
easily angry and easily satisfied ; his strength
and longevity are medium. A man of sangui-
nary temperament is brainy {medhavi), clever
and is an authoritative speaker ; in combat he is
brave and irresistible." Snsriita III. 4. 61^^.
"The complexion of a man of phlegmatic
(slesma) temperament, is like the grass, blue
lotus blossom or wet ai^ista (soap-tree), sharpen-
ed sword or the shaft of an arrow (i. e. fat and
bright.) He is pleasant to look at, fond of
eating sweet things (it is well-known that in
myxedema or cretinism there is a great fondness
53. ^^ ^: TftdRir^^l^-^W'i<gl^^'1c1l^ra1^1^qTfil^TK?T^
106 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE '
for sugar and high tolerance for carbohydrates),
obliging, lazy, patient, without desires, heavy,
indifiPerent and thick-bodied." Siwmta III. 4.
65^*.
One can see here almost the true clinical
picture of hyper-thyroidism in an advanced
state, in the primary stage and hypo-thyroidism.
Thyroid influences metabolism. With metabolsim
is inter-locked the automatic bodily mechanism
of self-defence against infection. It is well-
known that our integuments and mucous mem-
branes swarm with innumerable pathogenic
germs which almost live a harmless, vegetative
parasitic life, but if the organism is devitalized
by overwork or malnutrition, if its immunizing
resisting power is lowered, in other words, if its
defensive mechanism has been weakened, then
infection takes place. We inhale almost with
every inspiration plenty of bacillus tuberculosis
and they lodge in our nostrils and lungs, we
harbour in our intestine enough of coli-group^
but they can not do any harm as long as our
metabolic activities have not been . lowered
54. -^ ^^Tf^fe'siT^Tft^aK^TWTTm'^rrnFrw^*: ^^nr: fir^^nHt
PATHOLOGY 107
beyond the danger point. So far pathogenesis,
vitality of the organism, is the important factor.
This vitality classification, coefficient with
metabolism and oxidation, is practically synony-
mous with vayu ( = air) as a conductor of hot and
cold waves, pitta{ = heat principle), kapha ( = cold
principle)^ which we are justified to translate
as the nervous (hypermetabolism), sanguine
(normal metabolism) and phlegmatic (hypometa-
bolism) temperaments, and on which the whole
system of the Hindu medicine is based. If
there are points in which the picture drawn by
Charaka varies from modern clinical observation
(as bad smell and premature senility in sanguine
temperament, and strength in phlegmatic type),
it should not be forgotten that, there have been
evolutive changes with time both in the patho-
genic agents and our system, from the time of
the ancients and consequently reactions have
been partially modified. Moreover, it is good
to remember that for the age in which Charaka
and Susruta lived, their studies strike our ad-
miration'from the comparative historical point of
v|ew, but for modern practical needs, they are
nothing but crude and vague generalizations.
108 ANCIEKT HINDU MEDICINE '
I. Constitutional Pathogenesis
We can quite agree with Susruta (I. 120)
that 'whatever causes pain, is a disease*. But
the definition will be more logical and correct
if we say, "Disease is the state of body and mind,
produced in the organism, by a morbific agent
and the organism reacting against it."
It is yet controversial whether infections are
transmitted by heredity (adivala). According to
Weissmon ( gemules of Darwin and plastidules
of Haeckel are now practically discarded as
bearers of heredity) the germplasm is a bridge
between the past and the present, linking man to
the first-developed unicellular existence. The
germplasm or the germinative cell assures the
continuity of life and progress. In the lowest
step of the ladder in animal life, among
protozoa, reproduction takes place by fission,
budding or both combined when the mother cell,
through excess of nutrition divides into two as
a relief of cellular tension. With the growth of
organic life and specialization of cells as an
economy for functional utilities, special cells
{garnets) have been developed for reproduction.
In further evolution, gamets have been differen-
tiated into female garnet {ovum) and male gamet
\ PATHOLOGY 109
(spermatozoon). Their amphimixis tends to
<jause variation, while the germ plasm tries to
conserve the type. Hence inspite of infinite
Tariety, never two beings being the same, there
is a fundamental unity of the species, as modifi-
cations are very slow.
The germplasm — the bearer of heredity, is the
"chromatin' substance of the reproductive cell-
nucleus. The chromatin divides into chromosomes
(idants) and when they break up again, the
smaller units are called chromomeres {ids)and each
chromomere or Hd* contains all the dynamic poten-
tialities— generic, specific, individual, which under
appropriate nutrition and temperature, forms the
organism. , Each Hd' is surrounded by hypotheti-
cal units, called the ^determinants^ and determin-
ants by *hiphores' which are supposed to exercise
the directing infiuence in the development of
phylogenic evolutive transformations. Though
immortality of the germ-plasm can be maintained
without amphimixis, as in parthenogenetic eggs or
by artificial parthogenesis in normal ova as de-
monstrat^ed by J. Loeb, in higher plants and ani-
mals however, sexual conjugation is the normal
process. Conjugation or fertilization means the
reducing division of the chromosomes and the
restoration of the normal bulk in the fertilized
110 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE '
ovum by equal contribution from both the parent
cells. The stimulus which activates the fertiliza-
tion is a chemotactic substance liberated by both
the cells, but it seems that if the ovum is strong-
er as in the final stage, there is a protoplasmic
outgrowth towards the spermatozoon. The proto-
plasm contains nutritive materials for the embryo.
Inheritance of heredity is complicated by two
factors. Somatic characteristics are not transmit-
ted— but only germinal. Yet the germinal mate-
rials are influenced by somatic behaviour or f unc*
tional uses. One might lose his limbs and his
children would not be born without them. The
Jews have been practising circumcision for the
last four thousand years, yet the Jewish male ba-
bies are born with prepuce. But according to the
experiments of Brown Sequard, if the sciatic nerve
of a guinea pig be cut, the animal becomes epi-
leptic and if mated, brings forth offsprings that
are epileptic, though the sciatic nerve is there
and has not been severed, but its functional
disturbance has been fixed by heredity.
Somatic cells undergo the evolutionary modi-
fications of the functional exercise of an organ,
by which its development is regulated. Th erf ore
the hereditary transmissions are of two kinds, ger-
minal and epigenetic, i. e, the germplasmic ma-
^ PATHOLOGY Hi
terial becomes influenced and modified by the
somatic behaviour, that is, by external conditions.
And though the amphimixis takes place, the
characteristics of both the parents are not equal-
ly blend d in the offspring. It might receive the
prepotent characteristics of one as in a cross be-
tween a Negro with a White, pigment and hair
etc., or the recessive charcteristics of the other.
The sex of the offspring, according to some, depends
on the maturity of the ovum, and if the fertilisa-
tion takes place in the beginning, it is male and if
at the terminating period of the catamenia, it is
fema'e. If the twins are not of the same sex, it is
because two ova have been fecundated at two
different periods. Consanguineous marriages
produce evil effects, for heredity fixes and accen-
tuates the weak characteristics of both the parents.
If a blind man marries a blind woman, there is a
possibility that the offsprings of the mating would
have defective eye-sight, if they are not born to-
tally blind, but if a blind man marries a woman ■
with good eye-sight, the negative characteristic
of one would be counterbalanced by the other and
children born of that marriasre would not be
affected probably in their eye-sight. Of course,
the laws of heredity are not so simple. According
to some biologists, one does not inherit more than
112 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
50 p. c. from the parents, i. e. half from the
father and the mother, each one of the parents
cotributing about one-fourth, and each one of the
grand-parents one-eighth and so on according to
the geometric regressive proportion. But there
may be also sudden reversion to the ancestral
type and what is known as 'atavism.^ So no fixed
rules of heredity can be determined. But it is cer-
tain that the parents transmit to their offspring
their psychic and bodily impressions. Eor germ-
plasms must be certainly very sensitive to the
somatic impressions and transformations.
We have no definite proof that the pathogenic
germs are directly transmitted with the germ-
plasms. Eor if really the ovum or the spermato-
zoon be infected, then they would be incapable of
fertilization, growth and development, lacking
impulsive momentum, vitality and nutrition,
necessary for amphimixis and embryonic forma-
tion. The frequent abortion that takes pla,ce in
the primary state of syphilis, is not probably due
t@ the presence of treponema pallidum in the
germplasras, but due to their low vitality and
exhausted condition of nutrition or the inva-
sion of the embryo by the pathogenic germs
through the placenta. Of course, there are
cases known in medical history where the
PATHOLOGY llS
offspring has been born with all the stigmata of
syphilis, acquired from the father, while the
mother has acquired immunity from its infection
from the fetus through gradual elaboration of the
antibodies, as a reaction of the organism. But it
does not necessarily imply that the spermatozoon
that fertilized the ovum and caused conception,
had living syphilic germ in it, or it might have
been simply saturated with attenuated syphilic
virus — mild enough not to interfere with embryo-
nic and fetal growth, yet a sufficient cause to bring
forth immunizing reactions in the maternal or-
ganism, witliout infecting her. In the matter of
hereditary transmission of infectious diseases, the
question is whether the germplasms can be car-
riers of infective microbes ? In this the father
is concerned only at the time of conception. Of
course at the time of copulation and conception,
the father's state of health and condition, are
reflected in the offspring. If the father i&
youthful, healthy and in happy mood, the
offspring acquires a gay and cheerful disposition
of mind. JX on the contrary, the father is aged, or
suffers from* dyspepsia, malaria or liver troubles,
which naturally create a melancholy frame of
mind, the children inherit the appearance of pre-
mature senility. The children of youthful parents
114 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE '
usually inherit a mobile and agile nervous
system, as in youth nerves are very sensitive and
responsive to impressions. The children of
goaty, tubercular or hemophiliac parentage
aquire a diathetic predisposition to these diseases.
In an arthritic family often are seen manifesta-
tions in different members of the family of gout,
€czema, nervous affections, hepatic and renal
lithiasis, diabetes and Bright's disease. But
there is no conclusive evidence that the germ-
plasm is a carrier of infectious germ.
But the mother's influence is much more
preponderant. The fetus lives and grows in
the mother's womb as a parasite for eight to ten
months. Por its nutrition it is dependent on
the maternal circulatory system. Spermatozoon
practically acts simply as a stimulant and gives
the momentum to the ovum to start its anabolic
evolutionary course. The child is really formed
of the mother's nutrition. So her psychical
and physical life vitally reflects in the formation
and growth of the fetus, during the long period
of gestation. If she has any infectious disease,
it is very unusual, if she does not tr^ansmit it to
the fetus through the placenta.
Nutritional (dosavala) disturbances are
many and varied, and are known as metabolic
PATHOLOGY 115
diseases. Nutrition is the function of every
living cell, consisting in the taking in and
'assimilation through fermentative changes,
whereby tissue is nourished and built and
energy is liberated : its successive stages are
known as digestion, absorption, assimilation,
disassimilation and excretion.
Anabolism is the assimilative synthetic
process, while catabolism is the retrograde
disassimilative metabolism. For both these
functions a liquid medium is necessary in which
the nutritive substances can be in a soluble
state, so that by osmotic pressure, it can per-
colate through the capillary wall and enter into
interstitial space, from which the cells extract
their food needs by endosmosis, and by exosmo-
sis, throw out the metabolic v»^aste products
formed in the organic synthesis into the lymph
stream. If any of the waste products be allowed
to accumulate, the organism would die out of
auto-intoxication.
So nutrition comprises various functions.
(1) Transmission and transformation of food in the
alimentary canal by the digestive enzymes, from
insoluble into soluble products so that they become
dialyzable: starches are saccharified, albumines
are peptonised and fats are partly emulsified
116 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
and partly split up into fatty acids and glycerine.
,(2) Absorption of the digested soluble nutrients.
(3) Detoxication, synthesis and fixation of the
nutrients in the liver, especially the glucose,
which is converted into glycogen. (4) Trans-
portation of the nutrients with the blood-circula-
tion to every tissue of the body for the food-
supply of the cells, the extraction of the food-
material from the plasma by the cells, and ejec-
tion into it of the waste-production of catabolism.
(5) Regressive metamorphosis and reduction of
harmful disassimilative products into harmless
substances, chiefly in the liver as the conversion
of the nitrogenous end-products into urea. (6)
Elimination of the metabolic wastes through the
kidneys, lungs and the skin. It has been esti-
mated that an adult voids daily 250 grams of
iarbon and 18 grams of nitrogen. This must be
replaced to preserve the equilibrium between the
cncome and the expenditure of the bodily energy,
or it will slowly starve to death.
Death takes place through starvation, when
the body has lost nearly 45 per -cent of its
weight. When food is withdrawn,^ the orga-
inism performs its multifarious functional activi-
ties, as the pulsation of the heart, • metabolism,,
respiration, mainteaance of the body tempera-
PATHOLOGY 117
ture, muscular contraction and excretion of
waste products, by consumption of the body fat
and protein, sacrificing the less useful to the
more useful in the economy. Death is postpon-
ed if plenty of water is taken, for it maintains
the integrity of the circulatory system and aids
in the transportation of tlie metabolic wastes
for expulsion from the body. Without suffici-
ent consumption of water, the increased viscosity
of blood and the retention of the toxic excretory
substances hasten death. However, death
through absolute starvation is very rare. But
death through malnutrition — insufficiency or bad
quality of food, especially during famine — is very
common, indirectly or directly. Malnutrition
weakens the vital resisting power of the organ-
ism and clears the way for the invasion of
epidemics, which is usually the case, or death
is slowly preceded by gradual emaciation, anemia,
dropsy, cardiac and cerebral disturbances, especi-
ally delirium.
If the aliments are too abundant or of bad
quality, the undigested food falls an easy prey to
microbes that swarm in the alimentary canal,
provoking fermentation and putrefaction, thus
causing dyspepsia, lientery auto-intox icationn
41atation and catarrh of the digestive tube. In
118 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the children, it is manifest hj gradual emaciation,
nervous irritability and erethema of the buttocks,
vulva and thighs. But even if it be digested and
absorbed, overnutrition is liable, with excess of
carbohydrate consumption to engender glycosuria^
if it be coupled with hepatic and pancreatic in-
sufficiency, with excess of protein consumption
into peptonuria and albuminuria with heptal
insufficiency under certain pathological condi-
tions. The evil effects of over-nutrition did not
escape Charaka. Eor he says : *'If any one
accustomed to day-sleep and the comforts of
bed ( i. e. does not take sufficient exercise )
indulsre in excess of oilv. sweet and slimv
substances, new rice, new wine, meat, fish, milk,
butter, and cakes, he becomes subject to many
diseases. If he does not reduce ( the excessive
consumption ) of restorative dishes, he will
suffer from diabetes ( prameha = gljcosuvia,
and albuminuria), cutaneous irritation ( katidu),
pain {gouty), eczema ( hotha ), jaundice, fever^
leprosy, alimentary diseases, strangury ( mutra-
krchchhi^a ), loss of appetite, lassitude ( tan-
dra)^ impotence, emaciation, lethargy, heaviness
of the body, burdening the circulatory system with
waste products, dullness of sense-impressions,
mental cloudiness, drowsiness ( p^amilaka )y
PATHOLOGY llO"
edema ( sotha ), and other diseases." Charaka
I. 23. l-5'\
II. Mechanical Pathogenesis.
Mechanical (adhibhautika) agents can be the
means of causing bodily suffering and death in
various ways under different circumstances. If a
man falls from a tree, the in jury would depend on
the pressure of contact, based on force ( weighty
height of the position and the gravitation of the
earth, as well as the nature of the ground). Even
one can suffer fatal injury, especially to the ner-
vous system, by the rapid vibration of air, as near
the passage of a high-speed projectile, of which
there have been numerous victims in the recent
war and it is known as ^shell-shocks*. Whatever
may be the injury, it is due to the conflict of power
and resistance. When one falls from a tree, he is-
the body in motion : when a sword or a bullet
strikes him, he is the resistance. The injury on
the wound depends on their mutual relation. One
misrht strike another with a sword, lacking force
without causing more than a bruise, but the same
120 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
sword can cut him in twain, if struck with vigor.
The nature of a wound depends on the instrument
and the force with whichit is struck. With sharp-
pointed intruments as the needle, pin, cannula
of hypodermic syringe, sting of certain insects
and scorpions, any wound is called the 'puncture^
and puDcture is usually harmless. Even the heart
can be punctured without any serious consequen-
ce Neither is tlie puncture of the nerve serious,
unless the vital centres are penetrated which
might cause sudden death. A bruise in the soft
parts without a break in the skin is called *con'
tused wound' which heals very quickly. A clean
cut with a sharp instrument is called the '"incised
wound' and though there is profuse bleeding as
long as the incised parts are not tightened togeth-
er, it heals rapidly usually without infection.
Lacerated wounds are those which are inflicted
with a blunt instrument or by biting of animals.
They generally take a longer time to heal, as it is
very hard to keep the torn out tissues in aseptic
condition. The seriousness of a gun-shot wound
depends on three factors, namely, the point of
-entrance, the tract and the point of exit. When
the bullet has lodged in the tissues of the body,
the tract is known as 'blind'. The wound at the
point of entrance is always smaller, due to the
PATHOLOGY 121
'Contractibility of the tissue than the aperture of
the exit, as it is more subjected to pressure and
distension and is consequently more or less lace-
rated whether the tract of the bullet is direct or
tortuous. When a buUiet lacks a great velocity,
it slunts by, if it meets a bone and becomes tor-
tuous, but if it be driven with a great force, it
might drill clear through a bone or cause a frac-
ture and impart to the fragments sufficient mo-
mentum to act as glancing missiles and aggravate
the lesion. The wounds caused by explosives
are more serious, as aside from the mechanical
effect, the tremendous sudden increase of press-
ure and temperature, as well as the liberation of
toxic gases cause a very severe nerve shock. In
any gun-shot or explosive wound, it is the nerve-
shock, that is the serious matter. Otherwise in
a simple wound not affecting any vital part in
the econom\, if there is no introduction of any
septic matter, and bleeding can be arrested and
suppuration prevented, there need not be any
fatal consequence.
The physical {kala-vala) agents are many as
heat, cold,* air-pressure, sudden seasonal changes,
dazzling light, the sun (sun-stoke), sound and
electricity. It seems that the human organism
can stand cold much easier than heat. Of course
122 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
with the rising temperature, metabolism is
slovA ed up and the consequence is less oxidation,,
■which means in other words, less production of
heat. And there is vaso-dilatation, and the blood
rushing to the periphery loses part of its heat by
radiation in the surrounding atmosphere, and
with the evaporation of perspiration, there is not
only further loss of heat, but also a noticeably
cooling sensation. However, when the evaporation
from the skin is not rapid as in humid heat, it
is more unpleasant. The dog or the cat whose
body is covered with hairy coating and can not
perspire freely, put out their tongue, execute
rapid respiratory movements and thus facilitate
evaporation through their gustatory organ. But
when due to excessive consumption of alcohol,
the vaso-motor mechanism does not react, or due
to burn, perspiration is interfered with, or in the
close overheated chamber near a furnace or
boiler, prostration comes with high fever, rapid
pulse, stertorous respiration, hot and dry skin
and delirium. Perhaps this symptoms-complex
is due to the chemical change in tbe nerves,
brought about by excessive heat and riot to the
coagulation of myosin as it was supposed before.
Exjposure to the strong sun for a long time,
principally the unprotected head, affects the
\
PATHOLOGY 123
nervous mechanism directly, especially in one
who has not been gradually accustomed to it, by
the penetrating actinic rays, creating perhaps
molecular changes in the nerve-cells. The pros-
tration is extreme, rapid and sudden, but often
the high temperature is missing, though in other
ways, the symptoms are those of heat-stroke.
Though cold can be better borne than heat, yet
after heavy consumption of alcohol, which
causes vaso-dilatation and consequently loss of
heat, one can be easily frozen to death. The
action of cold is intensified by humidity which
absorbs a good deal of heat and wind which
drives away the warm layer of air surrounding
the body. Even a healthy person with prolonged
exposure to cold and sudden fall of temperature,
might get a frost-bite. The frost-bite is manifest
in the first stage by erythema and rubefaction,
in the second stage by ulceration and finally by
eschars, entailing the loss of the organ. Even
when it does not directly cause any lesion, in»
directly in a weak, debilitated or undernour-
ished organism, it causes the development of
various germs as pneumococci ; or there is an
irresistible tendency to sleep from which one,
hardly wakes ; or the physical and mental
apathy may be interrupted by cerebral derange-
124i ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
ment and delirium, and one dies of heart-failure.
The influence of the variations of the atmos-
pheric pressure is not very negligible. At the
sea level, the air exerts a pressure of 1.03
kilogramme per square centimeter, that is, about
18,000 iiilogrammes for the human body. When
a man makes an abrupt ascent to a high altitude
in an aeroplane or makes a descent as a sea-
diver, the sudden pressure variation is apt to
cause various disturbances. At the sea level,
at zero altitude, there is a barometric pressure
of 76 centimeter of mercury ; in Cashmere at
the altitude of 7,000 feet, 56 ; at Mt. Everest at
the altitude of 29,000 feet, 24.8. If a deep-sea
fish is brought to the surface, it bursts from the
expansion of the gas contained in the fish, so a man
by a sudden high ascent not only finds it hard to
breathe owing to the rarefaction of the air and
consequent diminution of oxygen, but also the
intestinal gases expand and cause tympanites
and the blood rushing towards the periphery
provoke diverse disorders from the results of
anemia of the internal organs. At the altitude
of 2000 meters, the oxygen diminishes 13 per
cent ; at 3000,21 per cent ; at 6500,43 per cent
and at 8500,50 per cent. To counteract this
influence, the aeronauts are supplied with
\
PATHOLOGY 125
oxygen tanks, and the deep sea divers with
compressed air to two or three atmospheres. The
benefit of a mountain resort is in the purity of
air and its higher ozone content. But above 11,000
feet, one who is not accustomed to high-
mountain climbing, mountaineering may provoke
'mountain sickness* with a symptom-complex
of giddiness, nausea, dyspnea, headache, thirsty
malaise and a slight rise of temperature, almost
like the sea-sickness, and with weakness of heart
may prove fatal. But when a deep-sea diver
comes to the surface, he feels a buzzing sensa-
tion in the ears, due to the difference of pressure
between the two surfaces on the tympanum, and
this difference may be sufficiently great to-
cause rupture of the membrane, and there is a
complaint of great fatigue and tendency to
fainting. If the reduction of pressure is rapid,,
there is hemorrhage from the nose, ears and
lungs and on the skin in puntiform shape,
which the divers designate as '^flea bites.'
Light is visible between 497,000,000,000 and
728,000,000,000 vibrations per second. Below
or above this figure, there is no sensory impres-
sion. Yet within this narrow limit of our visibi-
lity, we can see that light plays an important
part in stimulating our nervous system and
126 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
general metabolism and killing many of the
microbes exposed to it. It is well known how
the sun light activates plant growth. Under
its influence, carbonic acid — a waste product
of the cellular metabolism, is made to unite
with water — and thus reconstituting a hydrate
of carbon — which is the principal mainstay of
energizing food supply of human beings and
herbivorous animals. And though light is
used very effectively as a valuable therapeutic
agent in dermatosis, a strong light might cause
erythema and reflected light, either from sand
as in the desert or snow, might provoke opthal-
mia and blepharitis. The harmfnl effects of
light can be avoided by using blue or black
glasses over the eyes, and covering the body,
especially the head with black or blue cloth
through which the ultra-violet rays can not
penetrate and to which the irritation is due.
Sound is only audible within the close range
of 30 and 30,000 vibrations per second. Pro-
longed harsh sounds may cause mechanical
lesion, even perforation of the timpanum and
reflexibly ne/vous irritation. The soothing and
restorative effect of the mountains and country
places is often in the freedom from noise. And
music which is nothing but the harmyon of
\
PATHOLOGY 127
isound, is now well recognised as an important
therapeutic agent for calming and soothing
nervous irritation and in various other nervous
derangements.
The nature of electricity is not fully under-
stood. Life itself possibly is an electro-chemical
reaction, brought about and maintained by the
interchange of the intercellular fermentative
activities. And the human body is a compli-
cated electrical apparatus : the lungs are the
battery and the nerves are the wires insulated
with sheaths of modulated and lipoid coatings.
If the nerve current propagates at the rate of
120 meters per second only, while electricity at
8000 miles, it is because the nerve is not a
homogenous wire, but interrupted by thousands
of sympathetic junctions. It is now recognised
that the insignificant quantity of minerals in
the diet plays a vital role in the economy.
It is very likely that they are intimately connect-
ed with the generation of electric current.
And like vibrations of light and sound waves,
the human organism can only adjust within a
limited range. Beyond that, it provokes death
by molecular change in the nervous system as
in electricution. The alternative current
of 200 voltage kills a dog within 30 seconds, 700
128 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
a horse and about 2000 a human being.
This also proves that the human body is a better
electrical machinery, withstanding the shocks of
2000 voltage, while the horse though superior
to man in body weight and muscular strength,
succumbs to shocks of 700 voltage.
Infectious (daiva-vala) agents are of various
kinds as a sporozoid in malaria (plasmodium
malaria)^ a high fungus akin to streptothrix
actinomyces in tuberculosis (bacillus tuberculosis)
or a bacterium like gouococcus in gonorrhea, vlt
seems that the pathogenic microbic agents are
almost ubiquitous. They are in the soil, water
and the air. They find themselves upon our skin
from all sources. But they usually live there a
harmless saprophytic life, as the horny epidermis
underlined by a layer of fat offers resistance ta
their penetration. With each inspiration count-
less bacteria get admission in the respiratory
passage, but tliey are retained by the hair in the
nasal orifices and by the vibratile cilia of the
mucous membrane. Those who penetrate farther,
are either expelled with the mucous secretions,
or by the germicidal mucus they are disinfected
and pasted on the walls of the nasal orifices. The
microorganism invade in large colonies the alimen
tary canal with the ingestion of food and drink^
PATHOLOGY 129'
but the hydrochloric acid content of the gastric
juice possesses a considerable germicidal power.
The intestine unquestionably is a fovorable placa
for their growth, as sufficient humidity, warmth
and nutrition from the residue of the food ara
found ideally combined, ^d there is hardly any
antiseptic secretion there to arrest their develop-
ment. In the gastric cavity are found nearly
50,000 microbes, in the mouth of duodenum
30,000, in the cecum 25,000 and in the lower
intestine about 100,000 per cubic millimeter.
On the whole, on the same basis of computation
there are about 412,000,000,000 microbes in the-
whole of the alimentary canal and every day
with the feces from 12 to 15 billions are evacuat-
ed. That they do not increase usually more
than that, is due to the fact that the fermenta-
tive bacterial colony counteracts the luxuriant
growth of the putrefying germs which cannot
flourish in the acid medium and thus they
preserve a mutual balance against each other
so that they can not easily become obnoxious
to the economv. But in case the vesretative
microbic flo'ra become active and virulent, they
reach the lymphatic glands and the liver, where-
they are destroyed. Of course the toxins
liberated by the pathogenic micro-organism
130 AXCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
can be absorbed, but they are more or less
attenuated, modified and made innocuous in the
hepatic cells and other mechanisms of the body.
Though the vulva and vagina swarm with
pathogenic germs, infection through the genito-
urinary passages is very rare except in venereal
diseases as gonorrhea, soft chancre and syphilis,
where even an abrasion, wound or cut is neces-
sary which generally takes place through the
sexual congress by the sharp edges of the hair,
so that the venereal disease-producing germs
can find a safe lodging place to develop in vita-
lity and virulence, as they are partly disinfected
by the germicidal mucous secretion and washed
away by the force of urination. When the
morbific agents as streptococcus are introduced
in the vaginal canal, they are all destroyed
within forty-eight hours (Meuge) by the abun-
dant vaginal secretions.
But even when the pathogenic germs force
through and invade the economy, the body is
not defenceless. When their morbific action
is not very virulent, the leucocytes rush up to
the locality and destroy them ; if complete
destruction is not possible for the phagocytes,
the lesion is circumscribed by the leucocytes
and the exudation. However, if the morbific
PATHOLOGY 131
invading micro-organisms are very virulent,
then of course the leucocytes are repelled by
the negative chemotoxic action of their secretory
toxins. And then they invade the economy
by the lymphatic or venous path. For blood
has a considerable germicidal power due to its
opsonic content. But even in case the microbes
enter by way of the stomach or the intestine
and reach the portal vein, they have to pass
through the formidable fortresses of the bodily
defensive mechanism — the liver and the lungs
which exercise a tremendous germicidal action,
before they can enter into the left heai^t to be
thrown into the general circulation. And
whether the microbes enter into the circulatory
system by the portal vein or penetrating through
the capillaries, any way in blood they have but
short-lived existence, for either they are destroy-
ed or driven into the capillaries, within less than
ten to fifteen minutes.
Life is indeed a continuous struggle with
the micro-organisms to preserve its integrity.
Even when there is a general invasion, the body
does not give up the task of self-preservation
hopelessly. The body enjoys more or less various
immunities — racial, ancestral, seasonal, inocula-
tionary, acquired and passive as a natural
132 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
reaction of the organism to counteract the toxia
products of the disease germs. We know that
tlie Negro races possess a remarkable immunity
against yellow fever while they are very suscept-
ible to tetanus and tuberculosis. The Mongolian
race is very predisposed to small-pox, but not
to tuberculosis. It is well known that the
offsprings of a gouty family are almost immune
against tuberculosis. And syphilis runs in
Europe a benign form, which when introduced
among savages, rages like an epidemic and
exterminates the population. Seasonal prefer-
ence for diseases is also well marked as the
typhoid and the gastro-intestinal diseases in
the summer, malaria in the autumn, thoracic
disorders in the winter and pneumonia in the
spring. It is the Chinese who first noticed
about four thousand years ago that certain
diseases like the small-pox gave an immunity
to its victim against its recurrence. On this
principle, vaccination has driven away small-
pox practically from all civilized countries. As
a prophylaxis against infectious diseases, serum
therapy is being built up on the sa'me basis,
inoculating an animal with the virus and thus
gradually attenuating the virus through a few
successive animals, a serum can be obtained
PATHOLOGY 133
which contains enough of antibodies, but not
strong enough to cause any malaise, in the
human system. The inoculation of the attenu-
ated serum is not only a prophylaxis against
the disease, but even when the infection takes
place, it stimulates the resisting power of the
organism by its bacteriolytic {lysoyenic), agglu-
tinative and opsonic action. Various sera
have been made and tried as that of typhoid,
pneumonia, cholera, but yet only the vaccine
of small-pox has given completely satisfactory
result. But undoutedly with the improvement
of technique and with better knowledge of
bio-chemistry and bacteriology, modified bacteri-
al sera promise great results in therapeutics
in no distant future.
134j ancient HINDU MEDICINE
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PATHOLOGY 135
All infectious diseases are now ascribed to
microbic agents and they have been all identified
except in some eruptive fevers as the scarlatina,
measles, small-pox, varcella {chicken pox) and
ere long, it is expected they will be isolated.
The parasytic diseases can be classified this way»
Diseases due to pyogenetic micrococci : —
Suppuration, septicemia, erysipelas and gonorrhea.
Acute diseases due to specific bacilli : —
Cholera, diphtheria, influenza, meningitis, plague,
pneumonia, tetanus, typhoid, yellow-fever.
Chronic diseases due to tissue bacilli : —
Glanders, leprosy, tuberculosis, mycetoma^
{Madura foot).
Diseases due to protozoa : — Dysentery, filaria-
sis, kala-azar, malaria, sleeping sickness, syphilis.
But the same morbific agent may cause local
or general pathogenesis as for example, when
pyogenic streptococcus is inoculated subcutane-
ously, only a local lesion — erysipelas is produced,
but when it is injected into the veins, it causes
general infection — septicema.
The microbes (Icrimi) in the feces originate in
the same way as those in the lymphatics. Their
habitat is the intestine. If some of them {krimi)
travel towards the stomach, then in the breath
and in the vomiting, there is bad odor. They
136 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
are minute, globular ( micrococci ), white-com-
piexioned, long (rod-like bacteria as that of the
anthrax), and like the lamb-hair ( leptothrix )."
CharakallL 7. 9''.
Detital caries : "In this disease the microbes
{krimi)y orginating from corrupt blood, blacken,
perforate and loosen the teeth." Susruta II. 16,
The disease-producing germs are introduced
into the system either through the air as tuber-
culosis, food and drink as in cholera, through
soil as in tetanus, personal contact as in gonor-
rhea, or through an intermediatory as in malaria
{itnopheles). As long as the microbes remain in
vegetative state, they simply live as parasites,
but sparing the host and doing the least harm to
the economy, as they take only the minimum
food for their maintenance. It is only when the
organism is devitalized due to over- work, fatigue.
PATHOLOGY 137
malnutrition, or undernutrition that they become
virulent and by their toxic secretion cause func-
tional disturbances and reactions.
Plies deposit microbes in the ulcer and
when the ulcer is eaten up by those microbes,
( local ) edema is produced. Snsruta IV.
1. 103^«.
Chemical (Msa) agents are many, but they
can be divided into two classes as endogenous
and exogenous. The endogenous toxins are those
that are produced autogenously in the cells as
metabolic wastes or engendered by the microbes
that live on tlie body as parasites. The exogen-
ous toxins may be introduced with rotten, poison-
ous, indigestive or disharmonious combination of
food and drink, bites of venomous snakes and
insects, occupations in lead, copper, corrosive
chemicals, sulphur, arsenic, quick-silver mines or
ovens, especially of coke-coals where in addition
carbon monoxide may be absorbed.
"Toxins are of two kinds : stable (vegetable
and metallic ) and mobile ( of animal origin ).
138 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Stable toxins are divided into ten classes and the-
mobile toxins into sixteen classes. Eoot, leaf,
fruit, flower, skin, exudation, juice, extract,
*dliatu^ {chemical principle or metal) and bulb are
the sources of sthavara {stable) poisons.'* Susruta
y. 2.2-3* ».
**iletention of feces and urine (through absorj)-
tion of their poisonous contents), day-sleep, keep-
ing vigil at night, drinking of liquor, exposure to
cold and wind, sexual excess, exposure to foul
odor, dust, smoke, wind and the sun, ingestion of
( excessive quantity of ) foods that are hard to
digest, acid or vegetables (5^ ^^a= leaves of plants)^
drinking of very cold water, receiving a wound in
the head, acidity due to indigestion, weeping, reten-
tion of tear, cloudy weather, extreme depression,
some misfortune to the country and untimely
season, derange the nerve, venous and lympha-
tic svstems and vitiate the blood of the brain and
f^k m wi H'^* '^\ '^'^ €K ^ '^ I
PATHOLOGY 130
thus cause headache with varied symptoms/'
Charaha 1. 17. 4'^
"Foods that are turned into poison by (dishar-
monious ) combination, are being mentioned '
Do not eat meat or fish with the grains of sprout-
ing rice, fat, honey, milk, molasses or with bean
( masa-paseolus racUatus ). Do not take clarified
butter, if it has been kept more than ten days in
a brass vessel." Susruta 1. 20, 12-13 ^\
60. €^i^r^Tfi^T^¥Rm't siR'C'jn'^m, i
^^^FWl^^MTqil ai^SiT^f^^^ II
^mr^: ^^rRrf^ fai?:^^^ ^ri i
cm: 'mm w^^ ^t f^r^i^^raiiT: ii
61. ^sj^rr^ '?'"4tJTT^f%fn1% ^wm: i ^ ^ r^^wR^^??'^'^-
faRTKI^ 1 ^^^ ^I^^I^T I ?^'§^T ^WTT I ^T?^^ ^^li ^^T '9¥
140 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
"Poison is not the only toxin; unpurified
copper ( that has not been incinerated and
calcinated ) is a terrible poison." Rasendra-Sara-
mragraha 1. 136^*.
*'Unpurified sulphur (that has not been incin-
erated and calcinated) produces fever, eczema,
delirium and bilious disorders." Rasendra-sai^a-
samgraha 1. 50^^.
Purified mercury ( that has been incinerated
and calcinated ) is like real ambrosia, but faulty
( i. e. incompletely purified or unpurified ) is
harmful like venom.'* Rasendra-sara-samgraha
1. 7'^ '
^ai5cr^tig''fEict ^fq": I Ji-g =Cm'^w qi I ?m^i5Tqftq^% ^5-5<mRh-^% ^
63. -^i^r^i*?: IP^ g cTiq' li^' ^ fqTl^^ ^flf I
PATHOLOGY 141
Poisoning miglit also take place from the in-
gestion of some fish-eggs at the breeding season,
some fish and molluscs which live on putrefied
matter, from the cooking earthen vessels that are
varnished with substances containing lead, arsenic
or Vermillion, foods that are colored and flavored
with aniline products or jn-eserved with an
excessive dose of salicylic acid.
All the snakes are not poisonous however, for
though they are provided with a venom gland,
all of them do not possess an excretory duct, so
that the venom can not be poured out.
But all poisons do not act immediately on the
organism. Some poisons especially the metallic
ones as arsenic, mercury, lead, sulphur have
cumulative effect. Though they may be taken
in small doses, they may be accumulated in the
liver and the osseous system and after months or
even years, they might express in violent reac-
tion of their cumulated effect. But in other
poisons as that of morphine, alcohol and tobacco,
the harmful reaction ceases more or less after a
while when the organism aquires the habit of
neutralising the noxious substances of those poi-
sonings. Tobacco not only harms the organism
by the partial absorption of nicotine, but also by
the inhalation of carbonic acid, carbonic oxide.
142 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
sulphuretted hydrogen, hydrocyanic acid and
pyridic bases, which the tobacco smoking pro-
duces.
According to Charaka (III. 6. 4), the diseases
are innumerable, but Susruta (VI. 66. 6.) calcu-
lates them as eleven hundred.
IV. DISEASES AND THEIR DIAGNOSIS.
"The physician in order to make a prognosis,
must examine hj direct (p7'afi/aksa), indirect
{ amimana = inference ) and differential diagnosis,
the color [ of the skin % lemon-yellow tint in
pernicious anemia, waxy pallor in nephritis,
bronzing in Addison's disease, greenish hue in
chlorosis, blue skin ( cyanosis ) in conjenital
heart disease, brownish-yellow coloration in
jaundice, grayish tinge in the long-continued
therapeutic ingestion of silver nitrate, yellow
tint in cancer and a permanent pallor in malarial
cachexia, tuberculosis, leucemia, syphilis, chronic
mercurial, lead and arsenic poisoning ], voice
[ whispering voice ( aplionia ), coarse or harsh
quality of the voice that is generally known as
''lioarseness'' ( dijsplionia ) are due to the inflamma-
tion of the larynx, or disease, or pressure upon
the recurrent laryngeal nerve ; chronic aphonia
( hysterical aplionia is only temporary ) is said
PATHOLOGY 14.3
to be prodromal of leprosy and chronic hoarseness
that of cancer ; deep, hoarse voice and brassy
cough indicate interference with the superior
laryngeal nerve and if there is aphonia without
cough or dysphonea, it may be due to paralysis
of all the laryngeal muscles ; a flat and toneless
voice results form one-sided paralysis of a cord
and a falsetto voice from paresis of the tensors
of the cords ; the open nasal tone is indicative
of the paralysis of the soft palate or destruction
of the soft palate by ulceration, usually syphilitic
or of congenital cleft of the palate, and the
closed nasal voice is often suggestive of coryza,
hay asthma, hypertrophic rhinitis, nasal polypus,
postnasal adenoids, enlarged faucial tonsils,
suppurative tonsilitis, acute pharyngitis and
retropharyngeal abscess ; the varied forms of
aphasia, motor ( apJwniia, agraphia ), sensory
( visual, auditory ), conduction, are the sympto-
matic expressions of the focal cerebral lesion,
occurring in the left hemisphere in the right
handed and the right hemisphere in the left-
handed, but might also occur in cerebral
hemorrhage, thrombosis, embolism, abscess,
tumor, gumma, depressed fracture of the skull
and more rarely in hysteria, neurasthenia and
immediately after epileptic convulsion ], odor
144 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
[ an unpleasant odor of breath is usually present
in the mouth of those whose teeth are not
cleansed and food particles are allowed to
accumulate on them and to cause decomposi-
tion and fermentation ; a foul odor in stomati-
tis and glossitis ; a stale and musty odor
with the accumulation of sordes upon the
teeth as in typhoid ; caries of the teeth, necrosis
of the jaw, pharyngeal or tonsillar diphtheria,
follicular tonsilitis and locunar concretions
also produce bad odor ; bat the most fetid
odor attends the mercurial and gangrenous
stomatitis and less so scurvy ; in uridrosis
occurring with diseases in which the action of
the kidney has been impaired, the sweat has a
urinous odor, and deposits white scales or
crystals of urinary solids upon the skin ; there is
volatile fatty emanation from the sebaceous
secretion and mixed with perspiration, the odor
varies in health and sickness, according to age
and race : among the Negroes, it is the most
pronounced and in the Mongolian race, it is the
least ], taste [ a bitter taste is felt in jaundice ;
a coppery taste in gastro-duodenal catarrh
( biliousness ) ; diversified taste sensations as
sweetish, sour, foul are felt when the tongue
is coated and furred from whatever cause ;
PATHOLOGY 145
abnormal taste with the long continued use of
certain drugs as potassium bromide, iodide or
tartar emetic ; perversions of taste in hysteria ;
absence of taste ( ageusia ), if it is unilateral is
indicative of the disease of the glosso-pharyngeal
nerve, and if it is bilateral, of the diseases of the -
nose as coryaa or polypus ; partial impairment
of taste ( hemiageusia ) may be due to the facial
paralysis, or due to local conditions of the mucous
membrane of the tongue, involving the taste
buds and end-organs of the gustatory fibers, as
in thickly furred or coated tongue, or due to the
irritating(as of piperine)or blunting(as of bromides)
action of the drugs or condiments ), touch (sparsa)
comprises tactile sense ( esthesic ), pain sense
( algesic ), temperature sense ( the?'mesthesic ),
muscle sense ( myesthesic ) i the loss of tactile
sensibility ( anesthesia ) is indicative of cerebral
lesions ( causing hemiplegia ), hysteria, traumatic
neuroses, diseases of the spinal cord, especially
locomotor ataxia, neuritis and leprosy ; hemi-
anesthesia, the loss of sensibility confined to one
side of the body or to lower extremities or of
unequal distribution, are mainly due to hysteria ;
an excessive sensibility (hyperesthesia) is gener-
ally met with in hysteria, chiefly in the hystero-
genic zones, which are in the breasts and below
10
146 ANCIENT HINDTJ MEDICINE
them in the central part of the chest, in the
pelvic region and the back ; in neurasthenia,
there are localized hypersensitive tender spots-
along the spine, scalp and the chest ; in meno-
pause and gouty diathesis, there are also tender
points on the scalp ; a general hypersensitiveness
may be present in influenza, typhoid fever, and
in alcoholic intoxication , disturbances in the
heat and cold sensation {thermaesthesic) are due
to syringomyelia and to a less extent to the
lesions of the medulla and locomotor ataxia ;
disturbances of the pain sensation — either hyper-
— or hypo-sensibility are due to syringomyelia,
Morvan's disease, hysteria and syphilic chord
disease ; loss of muscular sensation is characteris-
tic in locomotor ataxia, paramyoclonus multiplex^
myeletic disease, and the lesions in the medulla
and the pons ; transference of sensation {alio-
chiria) so that a touch, on one side of the bodv is
felt on the other, is symptomatic of hysteria,,
locomotor ataxia, disseminated sclerosis, myeletis;,,
delayed conduction so that a tactile or pain
sensation requires 5 seconds or more, instead of
one-tenth of a second, is characteristic of locomo-
tor ataxia and peripheral paresis), the eye (edema
of the eye-lid, particularly the lower one, is.
usually symptomatic of renal 'disease ; morning.
PATHOLOGY 1 47
puffiness "with bloated face is also seen after a
night of debauchery or in cases of profound
anemia, chlorosis or in neurotic adoloscents ;
in erysipelas, glanders, severe coryza, hay fever^
measles, variola and occasionally in varcella, as.
well as the prolonged use of arsenic and iodine^
may induce the swelling of the eye-lids ; ptosis —
the dropping of the eye-lid — is either congenital
or due to the paralysis of the third nerve ;.
lagophthalmos — imperfect closure of the lids^
follows paralysis of the orbicularis muscle, either
due to lesions of the portio dura of the facial
nerve or leprosy ; blepharospasm — spasmodic
closure of the lids is due to the reflex excitability
of the fifth nerve in photophobia, in ocular
disorders and is symptomatic of meningitis^
cerebral tumors, typhus, measles in certain,
stages of their evolution and may be also present
without actual inflammation of the membrane in
hysteria and in chorea in children ; hordeolum —
a sty or minute boil on the palpebral margin,,
if small and single may be of local origin or
indicative of the over-use of defective eves or-
more frequently of digestive or genital disorders ;.
blepharitis — inflammation of the margin of the
lids which become thick, reddened and crusted
with cheesy secretions, is indicative of scrofula or
148 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
of minute ulceration, resulting from a previous
oplithalmia or measles, anemia or in tuberculous
diatliesis ; verruca — warts upon the eye-lids, are
usually found in the old people, indicating the
possibility of commencing epithelioma ; syphilic
ulceration is generally deeply indurated and
accompanies other stigmata of the tertiary stage ;
a dusky color of the lids and under the eyes is
«eea in women during menstruation, in menorrh-
agia, long-continued leucorrhea and early in
pregnancy : it may also accompany anemia,
loss of sleep and in exhausting diseases ; dark
circles round the eyes are symptomatic of the
abuses of masturbation ; the yellow color of the
sclera of the eye is symptomatic of jaundice ;
bluish- white or pearly sclerotic is seen in anemia,
pthisis and nephritis ; inflamed conjunctiva is
usually caused by gonorrheal infection, though
it may be present in lesser degree in diphtheria,
measles, hay fever, coryza and influenza of the
catarrhal type ; the eye may be dry and glazed
in collapse or the typhoid status ; an increased
secretion of the watery fluid of the eye {lachry'
mation) accompanies conjunctivitis, irritation of
any kind and in alcoholism : inflammation of the
cornea (keratitis) is mainly of syphilic origin,
while the ulceration of the cornea — a reddened.
m
PATHOLOGY 149
painful, photopliobic eye may be in relation-
with exophtlialmic goitre ; protrusion of tlie-
eye-ball (exophthalmos) is symptomatic of exoph-
thalmic goitre and may be also present in lesser
degree in spasmodic asthma or other conditions,
attended by dyspnoea ; recession of the eye-ball
or the sinking of the eye-ball into the orbit
(enophthalmos)ma,j be provoked by any wasting
disease as consumption, malaria, cancerous-
cachexia, by absorbing the cushion of fat of
the orbital cavity ; dimness of vision may
be provoked by uremia, diabetes, excessive
abuse of tobacco, hysteria and migrane ;,
light appears yellowish in jaundice, and
reddish after nervous irritation, fatigue
and in wasting diseases), eai' (unusally promi-
nent, long or misplaced ears with absence of
helix, antihelix, or lobule, are degenerative
stigmata ; tophi — small, hard, gritty accretions-
of chalky masses of sodium urate, seen as-
nodules in the external ear alons: the marc^in
or in the depressions, is of gouty diathesis ; a
very thin, waxy and bluish ear may indicate-
general anemia or chlorosis; but a thickened and a
deformed ear with the effusion of blood between
the cartilages and the perichondrium (hematoma
auris\ is a trophoneurosis of the general
150 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
paralytic and the insane ; the flow of pus
{otorrhea) from the meatus, which is very
common among children and often associated
with intense pain, due to inflammation of the
tympanum (otitis media,) caused hy tonsilitis,
influenza or measles, is usually without serious
consequences, deafness is indicative of the
disease of the tympanum, eustacian tuhe or the
auditory nerve : it can be easily found out by
placing a watch at a varying distance from the
car and if its ticking sound is not audible by
aerial conduction, and then if the same watch
is placed upon the mastoid process and the
sound becomes audible by bone conduction,
then it clearly indicates that there is no nervous
lesion and the deafness is due to local hindranc-
es : the auditory nerve and its cortical center
may be affected by syphilis, which is usually
the case or by tuberculosis by injuring the
nerve endings : quinine, salicylic acid or the
salicylates may also provoke temporary deafness
by causing labyrinthine hyperemia ; hypersen-
sitiyeness of hearing (oxyacoia) and the buzzing,
roaring, hissing sound {tinnitus auriiim)^ are
due either to nervous irritability or to rhino-
pharyngeal catarrh, with involvment of the
eustacian tube or the middle ear), nose [a coarse
IBATHOLOGY 151
and broad nose is symptomatic of myxedema
and cretanism ; a depressed and sunken nose
is syphilitic unless there is traumatic fracture
of the bone ; a pinched and distorted nose may
"be due to obstruction of polypus, tumor or
adenoid growth ; a chronic redness of the nose
with dilated capillaries is indicative of alcoholism,
otherwise of chronic digestive disorders or
amenorrhea ; an intense pain in the nose is
symptomatic of syphilic lesion and a burning
pain, to catarrhal inflammations ; a sensation of
dryness is felt in the preliminary stages of
coryza ; sneezing — the spasmodic expiration, is
due to the direct (presence of any foreign body
or the inhalation of irritant substances as pep-
per, snuff and in the early stage of coryza,
mesales, pertussis, hay fever, asthma) or reflex
{as in hysteria) irritation of the sensory nerves
of the nose; nasal stenosis — difficulty of brea-
thing through the nose, if acute, is symptomatic
of an acute coryza, diphtheria, hay fever or
prodromal of typhus fever, glanders and variola,
and if chronic, it is either due to the obstruction
to lymphoid growths as in children or to congeni-
tal syphilis ; ulceration of the mucous mem-
brane is usually a manifestation of tertiary
syphilis or tuberculosis and might be followed
152 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
"by necrosis and caries of the bones ; the ulcera-
ted surfaces of syphilic origin is covered with
a dry, greenish crust and the stench of the
breath is sickening ; non-offensive, watery
discharge from the nose marks tlie beginning
of acute coryza, hay fever, pertussis, measles,
typhus fever, catarrhal form of influenza and
iodism ; offensive discharge accompanied with
greenish -gray crusts and its foul odor impercep-
tible to the subject, is symptomatic of syphilic
necrosis or of atrophic rhinitis ; a discharge of
blood from the nose (epistaxis) may have varied
causes as alcoholism which renders the vessels
to rupture, adenoid growths, ulceration in the
nose, suppressed menstruation, chronic nephri-
tis, cerebral thrombosis, and may be prodromal
of typhoid or other eruptive fever infection ;
loss of sense of smell (anosmia) may be due to
local obstruction as polipi or adenoid growths,
or chronic rhinitis and if it be only temporary,
it may be of neurotic origin as hysteria or
neurasthenia, and if it be permanent, the
olfactory anesthesia may be caused by nasal
necrosis of the bone, supporting the tract, or a
tumor involving the nerve ; hypersensitiveness
to smell {hypei'osmia)^ hallueinary smell {paros-
mia) and an offensive smell (kahosmia)
PATHOLOGY 153
without any physical basis, are all of neurotic
origin], tongue [the colour of the tongue,
the only mucous membrane of the body,
except the oral and the faucial, that is open to
naked eye inspection, changes according to
health, digestion and especially to tlie gastric
condition to which it is closely related : it is
pallid in anemia, bluish in cyanosis, reddish in
gastric hyper-acidity, bright-red in the first stage
of scarlet fever and in the inflammation of the
tongue ( glossitis ), and greyish in nigrities ; a
great enlargement of the tongue takes place in
acromegaly and myxedema, but the tongue also
swells considerably in variola, salivary calculus
and in angina Ludovici ; the coating of the
tongue consists of the accumulated epithelium,
micro-organisms and food detritus : a thin -white
coated tongue may be normal among the smokers
or those who are accustomed to breathe through
the mouth, but it usually accompanies mild
gastro-intestinal disorder, nasopharyngeal catarrh
or light fevers ; a flabby, swollen, indented
tongue, covered with a yellow, pasty fur, is
symptomatic of catarrhal gastritis, gastro-duode-
nitis or febrile conditions ; a narrow tongue with
a deep median fissure on each side of which
there is a rough, thick, brownish fur, or if it be
3.54 ANCIENT HINDTJ MEDICINE
dry, red and glazed, is characteristic in typhoid
status in its early and late stages ; a covered
tongue with white fur through which project
swollen and bright-red fungiform papilla, is
indicative of measles and other eruptive fevers ;
if one side of the tongue is higher than the other,
this is due to the unilateral lingual paralysis
and associated with hemiplegia ; if the tongue lies
motionless in the floor of the mouth and the
•subject is unable to protrude it and the functions
of speech, mastication and deglutition are serious-
ly impaired, it is due to' the total lingual
paralysis, caused by thrombosis or sypbilic lesion],
skin [ dryness of the skin {anidrosis) is observed
in cholera, myxedema, diabetes, Bright's disease,
dropsy and in the first stage of many acute
diseases, attended by high fever ; moist skin
and increased perspiration {hyperidrosis) occurs
in typhoid fever, tuberculosis, trichinosis, tetanus
and in rheumatism, but the rheumatic sweat is
strong in odor and acid in reaction ; in many
acute diseases ^critical sweats* suddenly break
out with the fall of temperature as in pneumonia
with the termination of paroxysm as in malaria,
or the night sweats of tuberculosis and other
wasting diseases ; partial or localized sweating is
caused by the deranged innervation of the
PATHOLOGY 155
^aso-motor nerves and by the local vaso-motor
paresis : this is particularly marked in rhachitis
and in which disease, which usually occurs
among children, the sweat is confined to the head
and the patient rolls his head at night and the
liair on the back of the head is rubbed off ;
sweating of the hands and feet are seen in gener-
vhI debility ; unilateral or one-sided sweating of
the head and face may arise from destructive
pressure on the sympathetic nerves, causing
paralysis of the dilator fibers of the ciliospinal
branches, as in thoracic aneurism, suppurative •
parrotities, migrane, neuralgia ; unilateral
sweating of the body (hemodrosis) occurs in
liembplegia : eccymosis and petechiae — purple
patches caused by extravasation of blood into
the skin, appear in many diseases and drug
poisonings as in acute yellow atrophy of the
liver, pernicious anemia, in advanced stage of
cancer of the liver and the stomach, cerebro-
spinal meningitis (epidemic), cyanosis, diphtheria,
jaundice (in severe forms), old age ( in the extre-
meties ), poliosis rheumatica, pyemia, advanced
cirrhosis ( hepatic or renal ), septicema, tuber-
culosis (with extreme debility), typhoid fevers,
ulcerative (malignant) endocarditis, yellow fever,
and the rashes may be caused either by idiosyn-
156 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
crasy or by poisoning with antipyrine, arnica,
arsenic, atropine, belladonna, cannabis indica^
capsicum, chloral, copper, croton oil, digitalis,
iodine, ergot, lead, mercury, morphine, opium,
potassium iodide and bromide, quinine, salicylat-
es, santonine, silver, sulphur, tar, tartar emetic ,.
inflammatory eruption in cerebro-spinal fever,
dengue, glanders (acute), erysipelas, syphilis ;
exanthematous eruption in measles, rubella,
scarlatina, varicella, variola ], mi/^c? (dullness of
mind is seen in cerebral inflammations, scleroses
of the brain, and in brain tumors), concentration
of mind, pui^ity (hygienic conditions), disposition^
behavior^ memory [ memory is impaired (amnesia)
in paralytic dementia, epilepsy, neurasthenia,
the over-use of bromides and in old age], shape
and general configuration of the body {aJcTti — tall,
thin subjects with slender ribs, and a long
narrow thorax are predisposed to tuberculosis of
the lungs ; short, stout, thick-boned persons
with florid face are predisposed with sumptuous
living to obesity and gouty diathesis), tempera-
7nent ( irritability of temper is often associa-
ted with gout, rheumatism, jaundice and
neurasthenia ; change of temper is seen in
pregnancy, typhoid fever, menopause and at
the early stage of the exophthalmic goitre ; melan-
PATHOLOGY 157
choly mood is marked in hepatic lesions), perver-
sions ( abnormalities of shape result from the
following diseases as rachitis, acromegaly, my-
xedema, pulmonary osteo-arthopathy, osteitis de-
formans, osteomalcia), strength, endurance, in-
telligence, cheerfulness, leanness ( as in consump-
tion), obesity, lassitude^ beginning of the disease,
acuteness (of the disease), lightness (of the disease)
physical characteristics, dietary, habits^ quantity
of food (that is consumed), the prevention of the
disease ( prophylaxis ), the cure of the disease,
the pi'eliminary symptoms of the disease, pain
(pain is caused by the lesion of the peripheral,
or the central nervous system, or indirectly by
affecting the general economy; *acute pain'' is
characteristic of acute inflammations of the serous
and synovial membranes as in pleurisy or in joint
inflammations ; *dull pain* is characteristic of the
inflammation of the mucous membranes and the
parenchymatous viscera ; *paroxysmaV or remit-
ting pain^ is characteristic of neuralgias and
colics; ^shifting pain' is charcteristic of rheumat-
ism, hysteria, locomotor ataxia, trichinosis ;
^gnawing or boiling pain' is charcteristic in the
diseases of the spinal column, thoracic and abdo-
minal aneurism, periosteal inflammations, gastric
carcinoma, and occasionally in gouty and lithemic
158 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
lesions ; ^cramp' — the sudden painful spasm of
certain muscles, aside from the occupation ••ramps,
from the over-use of fingers as in writer's
cramp, whether it is of the calf, toes or the abdo-
men is usually characteristic of gastro-intestinal
diseases and flatulence by causing an excessive
tension to the muscular wall of the stomach and
the intestine ; diffuse pain as in fever ; pain in
the vertex — the crown of the head, is characteristic
in neurasthenia, diseases of ovaries, uterus^
bladder, epilepsy, hysteria, anemia, chlorosis
in the frontal and the temporal region of the^
head, in nephritis, uremia, eye strain, iritis, glau-
coma, dyspepsia, constipation, syphilic nodes,
lithemia, rheumatism of the scalp ; in the
occipetal and cervical region : spinal irritation,
diseases of the cervical vertebrae, dyspepsia,
constipation, syphilis (very frequent), uterine
lesions, eye strain, carous teeth, nephritis, uremia,
cerebellar tumor, meningitis, adenoids of pharynx,,
naso-pharyngeal diseases, middle ear diseases,
rheumatism ; in the parietal region : dysmenorr-
hea, diseases of ear and bone, cancer of tongue,
hysteria, lithemia ; in the eye-balls : ophthalmo-
plegia internaa inflammation of conjunctiva, iris,
cornea, coryza, neuralgia of the fifth nerve, as-
thenopia (eye strain) ; in the nose : acute rhinitis
PATHOLOGY 159
diphtheria, glanders, primary syphilis ; aural
region : ottitis media, furuncle of meatus^ mas-
toid abscess, polypus, carous teeth, alveolar ab-
scess, cancer of tongue, aneurism of innominate
dentition, temporo-maxillary rheumatism, syphi-
litic or carous lesion of maxillary or temporal
bones ; in the front neck : myalgia, cervical caries
or abscess, sprains, inflamed lymph glands, aneu-
rism of innominate ; nape of neck : rheumatism,
neurasthenia, laryngitis, cerebrospinal meningitis^
tetanus, cervico-occipital neuralgia; throat: tonsi-
litis, pharyngitis, scarlatina, diphtheria, cascinomaj^
laryngitis, irritant poisoning ; jaw : dental affec-
tions, salivary calculus, neuralgia of maxillary-
nerve, parotitis, actinomycosis ; shoulder : rheu-
matism, synovitis, diaphragmatic pleurisy, dilated
stomach or colon, duodenitis, colitis, neuritis,
gallstone colic, hepatic diseases ; sternum : gas-
tric diseases, bronchitis, epidemic influenza, tabes,,
spinal apoplexy, angina pectoris, mediastinal ab-
scess or tumor; breast : uterine and ovarian lesions,
hysteria, menstruation and diseases of mamma -^
umbilicus : gallstone, hernia, carcinoma of omen-
tum, tumor or ulcer of stomacli ; chest : pleurisy,^
acute pneumonia, pericarditis, phthisis, medias-
tinal tumor; hysteria; flatulence, pericarditis ;
right hypocondrium gall stones ( particularly )^.
160 ANCIENT HINDU xAIEDICINE
liepatic diseases; carcinoma of stomach,
pancreas or duodenum ; movable kidney,
uremia, pleurisy ; left hypochondrium ;
gastritis, colitis, uremia, peritonitis, enlarged
spleen ; precordia : functional disorders of heart,
endocarditis, thrombosis of pulmonar artery,
gout, hysteria, locomotor ataxia, angina pectoris,
pyrosis ; Interscapular : flatulence, gastric in-
flammation or ulcer, rheumatism ; lumbar :
lumbago, fatigue, flatulence, appendicitis, hernia,
dysmenorrhea, kidney lesions, prostatis ; epigas-
trum : gastric lesions, appendicitis, gallstones,
ulcer of duodenum^carcinoma of pancreas,cholera
asiatica ; uremia, hepato-optosis, enteroptosis ;
abdomen : gastralgia, especially hyper-acidity,
arsenical, mercurial or lead poisoning, peritonitis,
hernia, intestinal tuberculosis, flatulence, tabes,
pancreatic lesions, leucemia, dysmenorrhea,
diabetes ; right iliac : appendicitis, ovaritis,
impactedcecum, colitis hernia, varicocele ; left
iliac : colitis, impacted sigmod, hernia, ovaritis,
varicocele; pubic region: cystitis, uterine or
ovarian lesions, ectopic pregnancy, pyelitis,
carcinoma of the bladder ; sacral region :
uterine, ovarian, or testicular lesions, excessive
venery, ulcer of rectum, sciatica; spine :
iiysteria, neurastiienia, carcinoma of the liver.
PATHOLOGY 161
rachitis, scurvy, febrile affectations, spinal
curvature, mediastinal tumor ; anterior thigh :
ovarian or uterine diseases, pregnancy or displaced
uterus, dysmenorrhea, renal colic, impacted
feces ; posterior thigh : sciatica, locomotor
ataxia, impacted feces ; leg : rheumatism, perios-
titis, leucemia, locomotor ataxia, spinal meningi-
tis ; calf : cramp due to nephritis, gout, diabetes,
hysteria and over exertion ; heel : gout, neuras-
thenia, ovarian lesion, achilodinia ; sole of foot :
plantar neuralgia, disease of prostrate, erythro-
imelalgia, ; in the articular joints : rheumatism,
gonorrheal arthritis, synovitis, syphilis, tubercu-
.losis, scurvy, neuralgia, pyemia, rachitis ;
testicle : orchitis, or epididymitis ; penis and
perinium : vesical calculus, or the passage
of the uric acid crystals (gravel), inflammation or
ulceration of the bladder, or irritation of the cal-
culus in the ureter or urethra ; diffuse pain in the
extremities : multiple neuritis, muscular rheuma-
tism, spinal meningitis, influenza, rachitis, trichi-
nosis), complaints^ gracefulness (of the body), com-
jplexion (a dull, muddy complexion in hepatic
lesion, constipation and digestive troubles), dreams
(dream as a diagnostic aid has not yet been
thoroughly evaluated, as the phenomenon of
•dream is complex and it is hard to analyze it,
11
162 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
but it is well kaown that nightmares are usually
caused by indigestion, and it is probable tliat the
dream images are formed by the digestive
activity, action of the heart and the peripheral
impressions or the indirect pressure of the full
bladder or impacted feces during sleep, reacting
on the central nervous system, awaking the
memory centers which for lack of co-ordination,
become distorted and fragmentary), messenger's
countenance, disturbances on the road^ the condi-
tions of the sick-room, medicines, the reactions
of the medicines {[\\)on. the patient), and advice
about the medical prescriptions'' Charaka
V. 1. 1«^
Predispositions (to diseases) are of six kinds :
racial^ (Negroes are predisposed to tuberculosis,
the Mongolian race to small-pox, Whites to yellow-
fever, Jews to diabetes and insanity), ancestral
( congenital syphilis, arthritic diatliesis ), geo-
65. T% ^g "m ^ ^l^ ?wg ?q^^ "^Wi "^^ "^T^sra T^i^m "fm^m
^^^m Mm^ ^N^ jft^f^i^pirg ^rf^raiyif^^ n§ff?rg f^wm ^^^ f^\Wi
%«?T =^ '^^'^^ ^^ #=?^ cT^ '^\v^^^ ^\<^^ ^rr^g ^^i-^k^ ftw^rar-
PATHOLOGY 163^
graphical (malaria localized in marshy places,
where anopheles — a genus of mosquitos — an
intermediatory of its infection can grow and
thrive ), periodical ( epidemics — pneumonia is
usually prevalent in the spring, influenza in the
winter), according to age ( there are particular
diseases of infancv. vouth, middle-aii^e and old-
age) and individual (idiosyncrasy as susceptihility
of certain persons to milk, oysters, strawberries
etc. producing eczema, diarrhoea etc.) Charaka
V. I. 3'«.
"So the respiration (the respiration rate of
the ne«'born is 44? ; at five years, 26 ; in the
adult, 16 to 20 ; in health it is faster standing
than lying, during the day than at night, after
meals than when fasting, in spring than ia
autumn, and during exercise, emotional and
mental excitement than when at rest ; and there
is about four pulse beats for one respiration ;
rapid respiration is observed in pulmonary
lesions, in lobar pneumonia and also in fever^
especially in children by the indirect influence of
the heated blood on the medulla ; slow respiration
is observed in coma, collapse and poising with
164 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
opium, chloral, chloroform or antimony ; jerking
inspiration is indicative of asthma, hysteria,
liyclrophohia ; jerking expiration in acute pleurisy
and fractured rib ; stertorous respiration (snoring)
is observed in apoplectic, uremic, diabetic coma,
narcotic poisoning and paralysis of the soft
palate, aside it is also observed in otherwise
healthy individuals, especially children who have
adenoids or enlarged tonsils and in grown-ups who
are very tired and consequently there is muscular
relaxation or are accustomed to mouth breathing,
for the snoring sound arises from the vibration
from the soft palate when breathing from the
mouth and the nose at the same time ; stridulous
or harsh respiration is due to some obstruction
of the air passage through the larynx, caused
through tumor, inflammation or any foreign
body ; wavy or uneven respiration is symptomatic
of pneumonia) ; neck ( a long, scrawny neck with
projecting larynx is indicative of tuberculous
diathesis and is usually correlated with the
pthisinoid chest, while a short and thick neck
with apoplectic predisposition ; rigidity of the
neck, if chronic, may arise from the lesion of the,
cervical vertebrae, caused by syphilic necrosis,
arthritis or the affectation of the cervical muscles
by rheumatism and if acute, through the inflam-
PATHOLOGY 1 65
mations of cervical glands, tumors or boils inter-
fering with movements of the neck ; nodes upon
the clavical bones, resembling the callus, but
not caused by trauma, indicate tertiary sypbilie
lesion ; but tumefaction above the clavicles-
occur in amphysema and myxedema ; temporary
swelling of the thyroid takes place during men-
struation, or after sexual union, especially in
women after first connubial embrace ; but a.
chronic enlargement is generally symptomatic
of exopthalmic goitre, but may be also due to
adenoma, cancer, tuberculosis or gumma of
the gland : an atrophied and depressed thyroid
is observed in myxedema and cretinism ; ten-
derness of the neck may be caused by the
inflammation of the lymphatic glands of the
region from any cause as cervico-occipital
neuralgia, cervical myalgia or cervical caries),,
teeth (a baby should have six teeth when one year
old, twelve when a year and half old, sixteen
when two years old, twenty when two and half
years old ; milk teeth : 2 lower central incisors
appear between six to nine months ; 4 upper
incisors between eight to twelve months ; 2:
lower lateral incisors and 4 anterior molars
between twelve to fifteen months ; 4 canines
between eighteen to twenty-four months ; four
166 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
posterior molars between twenty-four to thirty
anonths ; permanent teeth : 6 first molars
appear between six and seven years ;
8 incisors between eight to nine years ; 8 bicus-
pids ( 'premolars ) between 9 to 11 years ;
4 canines between II to 14 years ; 2 second
molars between 12 to 15 years ; 4 third molars
between 17 to 25 years ; premature eruption of
teetli is indicative of congenital syphilis or tuber-
cular diathesis while delayed dentition that of
rachitis or cretinism ; if the permanent upper
central incisors are dwarfed, narrowed, short,
peg-like or somewhat rounded, tapering from
gum to edge, with a single, shallow and discolor-
ed notch in the edge, it is a sure sign of conge-
nital sypliilis, especially if it be associated with
keratitis and middle-ear disease ; dentated or
furrowed teeth originate from malnutrition or
an acute illness during infancy, sufficiently severe
to interfere with the nutrition ; looseniog of the
teeth in their sockets is associated with the
ulcerated, spongy or bleeding gums and there-
fore it can be ascribed to mercurial or gangren-
ous stomatitis, pyorrhea alveolaris, scurvy or
phosphorus poisoning ; a collection of sticky,
dark-brown paste ( sordes ) upon the teeth,
gums and the lips, sometimes stained with biood
PATHOLOGY 167
oozing from the gums, is very often present in
typhoid and other low fevers ; gritting or grind-
ing of the teeth among the children is usually
associated with gastro-intestinal disorders ; erosion
of the teeth takes place in gouty suhjects, with
loss of polish of tlie labial surface, followed by
■grooves which extend into the gums, causing
inflammation, necrosis, formation of calculi
( tartar ), loosening of the teeth and pyorrhea
alveolaris ; early, excessive or rapid dental caries
may be due to rachitis, but also takes place in
pregnancy, diabetes or chronic phosphorus
poisoning ; dyspepsia, chronic gastritis, constipa-
tion, diarrhoea, persistent aural, nasal, opthalmic
affections, nervous irritability, neuralgias or
jnigraines may be easily caused by the carous
teeth or pus sockets by the absorption of the
toxin and the ingestion of microbes with the
mastication of food ), liver and the spleen
( |;«ta= sides S the liver is the largest gland
of the body and lies beneath the diaphragm in
the right hypocondrium and the upper part of
the epigestrurn, about the size of 3 by 5 inches
and weiajhios: between two and half to three and
half pounds ; enlargement of the liver which can
be felt through palpation, occur in chronic malaria,
hypertrophic cirrhosis, leucemia, hydatids, fatty
168 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
infiltration, abscess, tumor, gummata or cancer ;
progressive lessening ( atrophy ) of the liver
takes place in cirrhosis ; displacement of the
liver upward may be due to pressure from below
by large abdominal tumors, meteorism or ascites,
and by downward pressure on the diaphragm by
emphysema, spasmodic asthma, large right
pleural effusion, large intrathoracic tumor, a
dilated heart or a pericardial effusion^; abnormal
rough, hard and resistant surface is indicative of
cirrhosis, carcinoma, amyloid or syphilic lesion :
the spleen is of oval, flattened shape and lies
in the left hypocondriac region between the
stomach and the diaphragm, of almost the same
size as the liver ; the rapid enlargement of the
spleen takes place in any acute infection, as in
typhoid, malaria and other fevers, tuberculosis,,
small pox, diphtheria, pneumonia, cerebro-spinal
meningitis, puemia or general scepticemia;
chronic enlargement of the spleen occurs in
pernicious malaria, in splenic anemia, hepatic
cirrhosis ), eyes^ hairs, [ kesa = \oug hairs as of
the head and the beard; /oma = small and fine
hairs of the other parts of the body : the hair
is luxuriant, bright, oily and wavy in hyper-
secretion of thyroid as in Grave's, Basedow's
diseases and the hair is dry, coarse, stiff and
I
PATHOLOGY 16^
sparse in hypo-secretion of tlie thyroid as in
myxedema, cretinism ; early gray hair before-
forty is usually associated with the premature
arterial degeneration ( enderteritis ) but it
is said that the sudden loss of pigmentation of
the hair may take place at times under the
influence of terrible fright, anxiety or deep
emotion ; tendency to premature grayness of the
hair may be hereditary ; circumscribed grey
patches of hair may be due to trophic clianges^
brought about by the lesion of the fifth nerve
and its branches ; undue and rapid loss of hair
( alopecia ) is indicative of syphilic lesion, but
this must not be confounded with the excessive
falling out of hair which takes place during
convalescence from acute diseases, as typhoid,
malaria, nor with that following an attack,
of gout or erysipelas, for in syphilis the hair
can be easily pulled in large masses without
causing pain and the hair does not usually
reappear ; in anemia, phthisis pulmonalis,
myxedema, hydrocephalis, and the severe
neuralgias of the fifth nerve, the hair is
usually thinned ; premature loss of hair may
be a hereditary family trait], abdomen [by in-
vspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation,
abdomen can be utilized of a great diagnostic^
170 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
value : smooth, shining and stretched skin (in
the abdomen) is observed in abdominal disten-
sion ; whitish stricks or striae are indicative of
previous long-continued distension as in ascites,
fat or pregnancy, and in extreme case, the
whitish stricks {Ihieae alhioantes) may be observed
also on the buttocks and the upper portions of
the thigh ; copper-colored, scaly, somewhat
circular spots upon the abdomen are indicative
of secondary syphilis, as well as the brownish or
yellowish macular areas of cloasma, which may
be also present ; enlarged glands in the groins
-signify either venerial infection or bubonic
plague and their retracted cicatrices of their past
lesions ; enlarged superficial abdominal veins,
radiating from the umbilicus, appear in portal
obstruction, through hepatic cirrhosis or tumor,
ascites of long duration or greatly dilated sto-
mach ; the navel (umbilicus) ia deeply retracted
in stout people ; if projecting it may be due to
portal obstruction, pregnancy or hernia ; it is
flattened or protruding in excessive ascites, or
abdominal distentions ; fixation of the umbilicus
is significant of hepatic malignant cancer ; the
abdominal wall may be thick from the deposit of
fat or edema and if it be thin with shrivelled skin,
it may be due either to old age, wasting disease.
PATHOLOGY 171
repeated pregnancies or as a reaction of long-
standing distension from ascites ; the abdomen
may be distended by the accumulation of fat in
the abdominal wall, or fluid in the perital cavity
or gas ill the alimentary canal or the presence of
a large tumor ; swelling in the gastric area may
be due to tumor, abscess or cancer on the gastric
wall, hepatic cancer or pancreatic cyst or scler-
osis or tlie distension of the gall-bladder either
with concretions or pus ; swelling in the hepatic
area may be due to tumor, cancer, hypertrophic
cirrhosis, hydatid cyst or passive congestion of
the liver or sympathetically from the distended
gall-bladder stuffed with concretions and pus ;
-swelling in the splenic area may be due to mov-
able or prolapsed spleen, perinephritic abscess,
or congested movable kidney, or cancer of the
stomacli ; the swelling of the appendical area is
symptomatic of acute appendicitis ; swelling in
tlie pelvic area may be due to distended bladder,
or by the distended uterus by tumor or detained
menstrual fluid {imperforate hymen) ; swelling
in the sigmoid area may be due to the impaction
of feces, tuberculous or cancerous peritonitis,
ulcer of colon, ovarian tumor or cyst of broad
ligament], nails (curving of the nails with clubbed
fingers, occur only in chronic diseases as phthisis
172 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
emphysema, aneurism or chronic cardiac
diseases ; malforraaLion, frasjilitv. dryness or
cracking of the nails may be due to injury,
syphilis or due to trophic defects, resulting from
nerve lesion, neuritis, syringomyelia or pul-
monary osteo-arthopathy ; arrested gro\Yth of
nails may be due to hemiplegia from cerebral
apoplexy or acute infantile paralysis ; enlarge-
ment of the nails with thickening and sometimes
twisting occurs in the course of syphilis, sclero-
dactyly and typhoid fevers ; the nails in some
cases of Raynaud's disease, become dry, scaly
and cracked or hypertrophied ; ecchymoses and
ulcers at the bases of the nails may be due to
chloral habit, but in a child {onychia) to syphi-
lis or scrofulous diathesis ; white marks or
transverse grooves on the surface of the nails
may indicate, unless due to injury, the period
of recovery from a recent acute illness ;
the growth of the nail from the matrix to
the end requires about six months and as the
white marks develop at the root of the nail and
with the growth of the nail, the transverse
goooves also ascend higher and so a rough esti-
mate can be made from their position of the
time that has elapsed since the convalescence set
in ; hard, brittle, and longitudinally striated
PATHOLOGY 173
nails are observed in gouty subjects), finger
(distorted fingers are due to gout, arthritis defor-
mans and less frequently to chronic rheumatism ;
hard, white, glissening masses {tophi) may be
present in the joints or along the tendons, on
account of the accumulation of the sodium urate
in gout and consequently in gout and rheuma-
tism, the joints of the fingers are enlarged
and painful , the tophi is more prominent on
the dorsal surface of the joints and it sometimes
breaks through the skin, so that the chalk-like
concretion exudes ; knobby enlargements of the
proximal ends of the terminal phalanges (end-
joint arthritic nodes ) may be due either to gout
or arthritis deformans and small crab-eye cysts
may be formed over the nodes ; the tips of the
fingers may be bulbous or club-shaped in
chronic lung diseases as phthisis or chronic heart
affection ; the claw hand occurs in consequence
of atrophy and paralysis of the interossei and
lumbrical muscles due to neuritis of the median
and ulnar nerves ; the spade hand with large,
coarse, thick fingers and broad nails is observed
in myxedema, but in which only the soft parts
are affected, while in acromegaly, the bones are
enlarged ; the hand of the individual of a
nervous temperament is firm, fine, delicate and
174 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
dexterous ; of sanguine temperament, broad,
heavy, strong and energetic ; of plilegmatic
temperament soft and clammy ; coldness of the
hands and feet, with or witliout tendency to
sweating, if persisting for a long time, is due to
neurasthenia, anemia, chronic digestive disorders^
gout, cardiac or pulmonary diseases, interfering:
with the circulation) should be observed."
Charaka V. 3. 5'^
*'When he does that (vomits), the physician
should examine the expectorated matter from the
spittoon with attention." Charaka I. 15. 16® \
Urine was examined for its color, consistence,
taste and smell, only in genito-urinary diseases.
{Charahi II. 4 ; Susruta II. 6) but sputum,
feces and semen as a vitality test and as a
prognosis in diseases : "According to the
sayings of the wise, his life is at an end, whose
sputum, feces and semen sink, when thrown into
water." Charaka V. 9. 14*". Susruta gives
elaborate details of the prognostic symptoms : —
67, cfm^'^W'^'^TK'^q^'^^'.^Sl^'Tt^^^ITF^^a^ ^=^?t_l \^fl-
68. cT^s^ %Tn sifh^i'^iiciHt^cf I =^^€'i%cTT, ^5^^pm, u ^: II
PATHOLOGY 175*
"He whose complexion is changed into pale-
brownisli (in Addison's disease), reddish (hypere-
mia ; chlorosis rubra), yellowish (jaundice or
icterus) or i)lue-purplish (cyanosis), he is near
his death. He who suddenly loses his modesty,
beautiful appearance, ability to hold himself
upright and personal charms (in apoplexy, asudden
loss of consciousness is followed by paralysis, due
to cerebral hemorrhage or blocking of an artery
of the brain by an embolus or thrombus), he can«
be regarded as dead. Wliose loioer lip hangs down
(the lips are loose and pendulous in diphtheretic-
paralysis or chronic bulbar palsy), upper Up
twitches up (twitching or trembling of the lips is
index of general paralysis or bulbar palsy),or both
the lips have the colour of ripe plums (the colour
of the ripe plum is dark bluish, that is cyanotic :
in diseases of the heart or the lungs, especially
the chronic forms, owing to dyspnoea, the
lips are open, dry and cyanosed), his life is
hard to save. He whose teeth are reddish (stained
with blood — sordes — in typhoid prostration),^
or pale brownish ( stained from the deposit of
foul matter in jaundice on the tongue ), or like
polished collyrium (dark black deposit is found
on the tongue in Addison's disease or nigritis ),.
or have fallen ( loosening of the teeth in their
176 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
sockets may be due to pyorrhea alveolaris,
scurvy, purpura hemorrhagia, and extensive
and rapid dental caries is common in diabetes or
rachitis ), can be regarded as dead. He whose
tongue is black ( in Addison's disease or nigrites)
paralyzed ( in basal meningitis, syphilic lesion,
tumor or cerebral hemorrhage ), swollen
( glossitis may occur in various diseases as
variola, erysipelas or sceptimia ), or dry and
fissured ( in the typhoid status ), is near his
death." Susnda I. 31. 2-6' ^
He whose hair looks oily (in hyperthyroidism),
though not smeared with oil, does not live long.
■ 70. W^ ^tff fcT^ ^m if^^ ^ *TR^ I
PATHOLOGY 177
and knowing this, the wise ( physician ) should
give him up. CharaJca V, 8. 7^^
Susruta says^^, *'Nervous diseases, 'prameha^
( diahetes and gonorrhea ), leprosy, hemorrhoids
( piles ), anal fistula, calculus, 'mudhagarhha*
( transverse or scapulo-posterior presentation
of the fetus during hirth ) and ahdominal
maladies — these eight are naturally hard to
€ure ; but if these are also complicated with
the developments of enervation, emaciation,
dyspnea, thirst, ^sosa* (desiccation of the body or
pulmonary consumption ), vomiting, fever, un-
consciousness, diarrhea, hiccup and other compli-
cations, then the wise physician, desirous of suc-
cess, should not untertake their treatment. If
72. e^M«i<i(vf: vi^r^ ir^jRf ^tt^: i
^^^ ifffcq^ ^f^fei^ ^T^R^: 11^
ni<j]*ii*i-5ii<'sra-(3:^^Mf?i3^: i
^^^'Tkr f^^ii f»T^3rr ftrf^Ri^dr ii8
12
178 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
in nervous diseases, there are complications of
edema, insensibility to touch, paralysis of the
hody, tremor, tumor and pain in the abdomen,
the patient dies. If in urinary diseases these
complications develop, and with the urine
much substances ( albuminuria) are discharged
and boils appear on the body, that patient dies.
In leprosy, if the nodules ulcerate, eyes become
red, the voice broken and the five kinds of
treatment as vomiting and purgation do not
succeed, the death of the patient is near. In
hemorrhoids ( piles ), if there are complication
of polydipsia, loss of appetite, pain, excessive
^1^ =^q?T«n^ fg^jKrisq^if^m 111°
PATHOLOGY 179^
bleeding, edema and diarrhoGa, the patient dies.
The anal fistula throui^h which the intestinal seas.
urine, feces, microbes and semen are discharfred is
deadly. In the diseases of hard calculus {asmar'i)^
soft calculus {sarkcif^a) and gravel {sikata-iiric acid
sands), if there appear edema in umbilical region,
testicles, ischuria (retention of urine), and shoot-
ing pain, the patient dies quickly. In the trans-
verse presentation, if there is paralysis of the
uterus, dull pain {mahkalla) and spasmic contrac-
tion of the vagina, the gravida dies. In abdo-
minal diseases, if there is deplegia, aversion for
food, edema, diarrhea and inspite of purgation,
the intestine remains inflated, then give up
180 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
(treatment). In fevers, if the patient is delirious,
unconscious, and is absolutely confined to bed,
and while the outside of his body (skin) is cold
and inside ( in the internal organs ) there is
hyperaemia, then he dies. In fevers, if there
is horripilation, eyes become red, there is an
acute shooting pain in the heart, and respiration
takes place only through the mouth, the patient
is killed by the disease. And in fever, if the
patient has hiccup, dyspnea, polydipsia, delirium
and wandering eyes, he goes to the abode of
death. In fever, if the patient has clouded
vision, delirium, paroxysmal somnolence, hydre-
mia (thinness of blood) and emaciation, the fever
kills the patient. In diarrhea, if there are the
complications of dyspnea, pain, polydipsia, ener-
vation, emaciation and fever, the aged patient
never lives, though an infant once in a while
might survive. In phthisis, if the patient has glazed
«yes, aversion for food, jerky respiration, and
hyperalgia in seminal discharge ( in prostatic cal-
culus), any of these complications is to be regard-
PATHOLOGY 181
ed critical. In abdominal tumor, if the patient
has dyspnea, pain, polydipsia, anorexia, rupture
of the tumor and enervation, death takes place.
In a deep-seated abscess {vidradhi), if there is
abdominal tumescence, anuria, vomiting, hiccup^
polydipsia, throbbing pain and dyspnea, he does
not live. In icterus (jaundice), the patient dies
if his teeth, nails and eyes turn yellowish, and he
sees everything yellowish. In gastrorrhagia
(hemorrhage from the stomach), if the patient
repeatedly vomits blood, his eyes become reddish
and he sees everything reddish, he perishes.'*
Siisruta I. 33. 3-22.
Pains : "Boring ( todana = as caused by
the penetration of sewing needle ), terebrant
{ vedana = to tear out ) lacerating ( tadana =
concussion as a blow from a rod ), lancinating^
( chhedana = cutting with a sharp instrument ),
dilating ( ay a^m<xwa -radiating ), tensive ( man-
thana=a>s fire is made by friction of two sticks),
expulsive ( viksepana = to throw out ), sucking.
( chumuchumayana = as a magnet or mustard
poultice draws by suction), hurning{ nirdahana =
182 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
burning), grinding {avahhanjana = ^\x\.Yexizm^),
Julguraat ( spohtana = bursting ), shooting
(»irZ«rcK?za = penetrating), eoulsive ( utpatana = to
pull up ), throbbing ( kampana = tremulous ),
dully sharp ^ acute, itching, ir?Htant, premonitoi^y
or after pain { vividha-sTda-vislesana = Ya.vio\x3
degrees of pain), shifting {vikirana = which, shifts
from place to place as in hysteria ), C7'amp or
spasmodic ( pUrana = which fills up ), pai^alyzing
(stamhhana = which causes insensibility in the
adjacent area), wtHnging {avaktiiichana = to
press out ), foi^mication or itching {aiikiisika =
sprouting, a sensation as of ants or similar ob-
jects crawling over the body). By the derange-
ment of nerves, these pains manifest in the
*V7'anas* (abscess, tumor, pustule, boil, carcinoma,
eczema, etc.) and if for any reason withot (appar-
ent) cause, different kinds of pain appear, or in
certain localities they appear repeatedly, they are
to be ascribed to nervous origin.
Unilateral eruption (osa), cutaneous inflamma-
tion (chosa), diffuse eruption {paridaha), oppress-
ed feeling ( dhumai/ana = a,s in smoke suffoca-
tion), the sensation as if burning coal were
sprePod over the body with the increase of the
subiective sensation of heat, and the similar
sensation that is felt if a caustic were applied to
PATHOLOGY 183
^ wouud, — the pains experienced in these sensa-
tions, are of * pitta' origin ; pains of the abscesses,
/originating from the vitiation or poisoning of
the blood, are the same.
Pruritus (X^«.^# = itching), lieaviness {gurutva
= heaviness or Aveight is felt in the chest in
hemoptysis, spasmodic asthma, chronic gastritis ;
in the head in neurasthenia, hypocondrisis and is
occasionally a premonitory symptom of apoplexy ;
in the abdomen or pelvis, due to tumors in those
regions ), somnolence ( sitjjtatva ), tumescence
{upadelia), numbness {alpa-vedana = '^?ixi\dl
anesthesia ), paresis ( siamhha ) and chilliness
{saitya ) are of phlegmatic origin." Susruta I.
"The physician should examine first mtalitif
( c^yw = durability of life ) of the patient. Even,
if there is ( good ) vitality (signs of long life,
manifest in the physical organs ), malady
73. fft^^?5lcfT^^^^=TT5R^f5!^q'3I^^5^ra^r5T^l^fn^^^'=T^3'I-
18^ ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
{etiology and the natiu'e of the pathological mani-
festation ), season ( of the year in its relation to
the disease and its reaction against it), metabolism
( of the patient ; «5^;^^ = internal combustion, that
is oxidation ), age^ pliysioal strength, nervous
mtality^ predispositions^ characteristics ( of the
patient ), remedies (available and their reaction
against the disease ) and the region ( desa t
marshy or dry, altitude, low or high land, plain
or hilly, salubrity of the climate, prevalence of
endemic diseases and of epidemics within the
territory).
Signs of longevity : He enjoys long life, who
lias large hands, feet, sides, back, nipple ( papilla
mamma ), teeth ^ face, shoulder and forehead ;
long phalanx, breath (or respiratory organ ), eyes
and arms ; wide brows, precordial region
{stanantara = t\\e space between the two nipples),
and breast; short crus {jangha^the leg,
especially the segment between the knee and the
ankle), penis and neck ; deep breath ( or spiritual
force ), voice and umbilicus ; the mamma not
liigh but firm ; fleshy, large and hairy ears ;
whose joints, veins ( vessels ) and tendons are
hidden, all the bodily parts are healthy and
strong, all the senses are steady, and the health
lias persistently improved, that person will have
PATHOLOGY 185"
a long life. He who has never had any sickness
from birth and whose body, intelligence and
comprehension have progressively been deve-
loped, will enjoy a long life. Snsruta I. 35.
"Life is (divided) into three periods : infancy,,
middle-age and senility. Of them, childliood is
up to fifteen years ( one minus sixteen ), divided
( further into three sub-divisions ) as sustaining
on milk ( liquid nourishment ), milk mixed with
other nourishing substances ( in liquid or semi-
solid form as barley concoction ) and ( solid )
nourishment. A baby up to one year old sustains
on milk, up to two years, milk mixed with
other substances, and above two years on ( solid )
era TfNTfW^P? -?^-^5iN-^3i^-^?5T-^^-^^rr?:' ^TT^feq^-
'Tg^4l'5H^f^JT^Tft'?3I^' q^^T^fe^ ^Tc[ig%ff' ^T^^IT f^T^l'
'^^tt^in^^ ^: ^ ^^[3*i^«) II
wffT ^ffsff^nt ?i: 55^: ^5T€t?»t I
186 ANCIEKT HINDU MEDICINE
food. From sixteen up to seventy years of age,
is regarded as the middle-age : middle-age is
composed of four periods as pubescence ( vrcldhi
= growth ), adolescence ( yaucana = jo\ii\\ ),
adultness ( sampurnata = coxn^lQiion of growth ),
senescence ( M;^^ = declining period ) ; up to the
age ©f twenty, is the period of growth, up to
thirty — youth, up to forty full development or
maturity, and from forty to seventy, it slowly
and gradually declines. ( The skeleton reaches
its limit very nearly at the same time as the
whole frame reaches its maximum of height, the
coalescence of various epiphyses being completed
by about the twenty-fifth year. Similarly the
mascular system in its increase tallies with the
weight of the whole body. The brain, in spite
of its increasing complexity of structure and
function to wliich it continues to attain, even in
middle life, early reaches its limit of bulk and
weight. At about seven years of age it
attains what may be considered as its first limit
for though it may increase somewhat up to twenty,
thirty, or even later years, its progress is more
slow after, than before seven. The vascular and
the diicestive orG:a7is as a whole mav continue to
increase even to a very late period ( Foster's
Physiology^ p. 1151). After seventy, elements
PATHOLOGY 187
( constituent ), sense, strength, courage and
enthusiasm dailv fall off ; at this a^e, one becomes
grey-haired and bald-lieaded and being subject
to dyspnea, bronchitis and other complications,
becomes incapacitated for all activities (as before)
and becomes like a dilapidated cottage, exposed
to the fury of rain, storm and tempests. This is
called old age." Susrutal, 35. 26' '.
"Infancy is phlegmatic, youth sanguinary and
old-age nervous." Susmta 1, 35. 27'^.
The following diseases may be congenital :
malformations, syphilis, idiocy, hydrocephalus,
hemophilia, infantile hemiplegia, osteomata, nevi,
sclerema, pemphigus, dermatitis neonatorum,
tetanus neonatorum, ichthyosis, acute fatty
f%^^'^ 8i%??f^ 'a^^'cTT =^if^ftf^ I fimr^^^?T^<ir4ai<i1 ^'l^'WT-
76. ^ f^t^ ^^T ??'<^^ fqTii^^ g I
^ws ^f^ ^TH^t cifm i^^%\ \\\^
188 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
degeneration, myotonia congenita, progressive
muscular atrophy, icterus neonatorum, atelectasis,
hemoglobinuria.
J3.ereditary diathesis : rheumatism, gout,
hepatic disorders, renal disorders, renal calculus,
respiratory lesions, diabetes, obesity, adiposis
dolorosa, acne, eczema, leprosy, arthritis
deformans, hernia, hereditary cerebellar ataxia,
hemophilia, alcoholism, pseudo-hypertrophic
paralysis, progressive muscular atrophy,
cancer.
Diseases peculiar in infancy and childhood :
cretinism, infantile paralysis, measles, roseola,
scarlatina, cerebro-spinal meningitis, chorea,
rachitis, hemophilia, infantile scurvy, hypertro-
phic cirrhosis of the liver, diarrhoea, adenoids,
bronchitis, broncho-pneumonia, spasmodic
laryngitis, noma, endocarditis, primary renal
sarcoma, eczema, pemphigus, seborrhea, ringworm,
diphtheria, hydrocephalus, nodding spasm.
Tihberty and adolescence : acne, seborrhea,
anemia, chlorosis, chloroma, myxedema, exoph-
thalmic goitre, catalepsy, trance, myoma,myolema^.
typhoids, meningitis, myocarditis, endocarditis,
hysteria, cerebral embolism, epilepsy.
Uarly adult age: acute tuberculosis, pulmo-
nary phthisis, gastralgia, gastric ulcer,syringomy-
PATHOLOGY 189
-elia, cerebral abscess, cerebral embolism, myoma,
periodic paralysis.
Middle age : exophthalmic goitre, myxedema,
diabetes, chronic nephritis, cysts of kidney, myo-
cardial diseases, endocarditis, aneurism, leucemia,
pernicious anemia, angina pectoris, ataxic para-
plegia, dementia paralytica, paralysis agitans,
intraspinal hemorrhage, myelitis, locomotor
ataxia, psychosis polyneuritica, carcinoma, gout,
cirrhosis of liver, gallstones, mollities ossium.
Old age : pruritus, ecthyma, gout, pephigus,
epithelioma, carcinoma, gout, arteriosclerosis,
cataract, gangrene,bronchitis,broncho -pneumonia,
aneurism, prostatic disease, myocardial disease,,
angina pectoris, cerebral apoplexy, paralysis agi-
tans, melancholia.
Diseases special or predominant in females :
chlorosis, osteomalcia, chorea, floating kidney,
lupus erythematosus, gallstones, constipation,
chorea, hysteria, neurasthenia, catalepsy, goitre,
myxedema, adiposis dolorosa, gastralgia, anemia.
In addition to the above-mentioned constitu-
tional, metabolic or infectious diseases, there are
of course countless other infectious diseases which'
can attack all ages and can bring about by slow
or rapid process the cessation of vital activities
and their co-ordination of the organism.
190 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
But though death is inevitable to multicellu-
lar life, Ssuruta emphasizes that natural death
through degeneration of senescence is a very rare
phenomenon: "According to Atharva-veda scho-
lars, deaths are of one hundred and one kinds, of
which the natural death (through old age) is one
while the rest one iiundred are accidental (inclu-
ding infection)." Susruta I. 34. 5''. It is
an undeniable fact, that protoplasm — the living
substance, living a particulate life in unicellular
existence and community life in mullicellular
existence, under favorable conditions, has not
necessarily any limitation of its life, and as
every living organism, comes into existence as
a protoplasm of a pre-existing living organism
protoplasm is potentially immortal. Ptepro-
duction among tho unicellular creatures is
by fission, so in a sense they never die as
long as proper conditions are maintained. But
life can, also, be preserved under adverse circum-
stances with arrested vitality as in hibernation of
many animals in wiuter. Even suspended vitali-
ty is not incompatible with life as many microb-
77. q^triT ^jr^sicirra^iii: w^^ I
PATHOLOGY 191
es, or their spores, can be completely desiccated
and kept in that state for many years, and after
that if they find a favorable medium, they show
their full activities again ( anabiosis ). Grains
which have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs
which have been lying there in a desiccated state
for more than one hundred ceturies, have been
found to germinate. And many fish can be frozen
with water and made an ice block and kept in
that condition for any length of time and if it be
thawed slowly, the fish can be revivified. Only
when protoplasm is coagulated, it loses its vita-
lity. Many trees are known, which according to
reliable tradition, have lived more than a thou-
sand years. Death comes to a tree by storm, light-
ning, fungi and parasitic diseases, improper nu-
trition from the soil either by the exhaustion or
excess of some of the salts or the insoluble combina-
tion of others, improper moisture or sunlight ; but
these are all accidental and are avoidable. It is
asserted that there are authenticated cases of men
who have lived more than 152 years. Old age
is certainly a disease, brought about by the dege-
nerative changes, caused by microbic infection,
absorption of their toxins and unhygienic living.
But this will be in future more or less controllable
with better knowledge of prophylaxis, dietary.
192 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
rational living and hygiene. And very few people
really die of senile degeneration. What actually
happens is this : in the debilitated condition when
the resisting power of the organism has been re-
duced, some infection takes place. Preventive
medicine in future will possibly eliminate many
of the virulent infections, but it can not impl
that death, will be preventible. Death is probab-
ly nature's economy of life. It eliminates those
who are no more capable of reproduction or can
not contribute materially to the support and pro-
vision of offspring, thus releasing the food-supply
to the new-generation for growth, development
and progress. Old age {senility) is the effect of
the cumulative auto-intoxications. Organism in
its very functioning — in the metabolic process,
produces various toxic products, which, if not
thoroughly eliminated, can accumulate in the or-
ganism bringing about degenerative changes.
According to Metchnikoff toxins are principally
absorbed from the putrefactive products of thelarge
intestine and to counteract the activities of the pro-
teolytic bacilli, which can only thrive in alkaline
reaction, he proposed the introduction into the
large intestine of the most active lactic acid pro-
ducing bacilli (bacillus Biilgaricus or maya fer-
ment) in the form of soured and curdled milk.
PATHOLOGY 19S
It is true that the large intestine serves no vita!-
function in the economy of life, and it has been
simply developed in animals as an accommodation,
so that animals are not compelled to slow the
speed and wait for defecation, while running-.
And animals with comparatively short intestine
live relatively longer than the animals with larger
intestine. And all the organs of the body do not
equally show the signs of senile degeneracy. But
the human body is a complex, intricate and deli-
cate machinery. If any of the vital organs is
seriously affected, it interferes with the integrity
of the organism as all the organs are intimate-
ly related and interdependent. A diseased organ
like the heart or the kidney can not be
replaced like a broken or worn-out part of an
auto or aeroplane machinery. They can be only
slowly and gradually improved by a regenerating^
process of relieving them of the burden and
tension by proper dietary and rational living.
But every disease leaves an indelible mark, every
shock an impression and every healed wound a
cicatrix. And the effect is cumulative. If all
the infections could be controlled, still there
would be old age and death brought about by
the slow b. t (iimulative effect of the partial
jetention i/ tlxe metabolic wastes, defective
13
194j ancient HINDU MEDICINE
liereditary inheritance, mental, emotional, and
physical shocks and excitements.
Buff on calculated that the duration of life
was six to seven times to that of growth, but
Plourens estimated it about five times. As the
epiphysis closes about twenty five in man, so it
■can be calculated that the longevity of man
should average from 125 years upwards. This is
certainly a respectable age compared to the pre-
sent standard, though someof theanimals,lacking
intelligence and control over the environment
are reputed to live longer as some authenticated
records show : salmon one hundred years ; in the
case of a carp one hundred and fifty years ; pike
two hundred years ; crocodile one hundred years ;
tortoise two hundred years ; eagle one hundred
years ; parrot eighty years ; swan eighty years;
ducks and geese fifty years ; falcons one hundred
years. In the records of zoological garden in
confinement, the rhinoceros is known to have
lived longer than thirty-seven years, and the
average duration of the life of horses, asses and
zebras from fifteen to thirty years, domestic
cattle from twenty-five to thirty years, sheep,
goats and antelopes from twelve to fifteen years,
llama seventeen years, hippopot?^ 'iius thirty-
seven years, domestic swine twenty years, ele-
PATHOLOGY • 195
f phants thirty to forty years, lions, tigers, bears
about 25 years, domestic cats from twelve to
twenty-three years, dogs from sixteen to eighteen,
years, hares and rabbits about ten years, mice
and rats from five to six years, bats about seven-
teen j^ears, monkeys eight to thirty years
( Ency. Brit. Vol XVI. p. 975 ).
DISEASES AND
THEIB CX.INZCAI. STUDIES.
*'Ailing ( vycidhi ), disease ( amaya ), sickness
( gada ), terror ( cttcmka ), consumption {yaksma)
fever ( jvara ), indisposition ( vikdra ), and
malady {roga) are synonyms. Miology (niddna),
prodi'ome {purvarTipa), symptoms [linga)^ remedy
( npasaya ) and sequel ( samprdpti ) are the
diagnostics of a disease. That *etiology^ means the
causes of disease has heen previously mentioned.
The premonitory symptoms that are observed
before the development of a disease, ar termed as
"iwodromes*. The symptom of a developed disease
( the disease might stay in a latent stat^^ and the
incubation of many infections may last for many
years in a resisting organism ) is called the *linga\
Characteristic {dkrti), indication {laksmcma)^ sign
(cliihm), lineament (saonsthdna)^ trait {vyanjana)^
feature ( rlipa ) are synonymous terms with
symptom ( llhga ). Remedy is called that
combined 'action of medicine ( ausadha ), diet
( dhdra ) and hygienic living ( vihd?'a ), which
cures the disease by counteracting either its-
DISEASES 197
causes or symptoms. Sequel ( samprapti ), out-
come ( agath ) aud after-developmeuts ( jatl )
are syuonymous." Charaka IT. 1. 2"^
^'Fevers are being mentioned in the beginning
of the book of pathology, for fever is tlie first
expression of all physical diseases." Charaka
n. 1. 6^^
Feter ( pyrexia ) in which the normal tempe-
rature is markedly exceeded for any length of
time above about 37 degree Centigrade or 98. 6
degree Fahrenheilit, is caused by the disturbance
of the heat-regulating mechanism. Whatever
stimulates the thermogenetic centre or unduly
constricts the vaso-dilators so that the excess of
keat can not be dissipated, provokes fever. In
sun-stroke, the peripheral nervous mechanism is
78. cm sufwT^ T^ ^m^ 5i=^r 5^t f^^i^t ^ ?«i«((y|Ti<*i, i
198 ANCIKNT HINDU MEDICINE
paralyzed and consequently the body temperai-
ture is considerably raised. But when a toxin
is introduced into the blood, the auto-defensive
mechanism of the body — adrenals and thyroids —
are stimulated and their oxidase-secretions are
poured into the blood stream, the heat-generating
centre is also excited by reflex and sympathetic
stimulation, so that by the enhanced metabolism,
the toxic products and their agents can be made
comparatively harmless to the organism, if not
destroyed. Adrenal secretion raises the blood
pressure by constricting the vessels so that tlle^
toxins and their pathogenic agents are subjected
forcibly to the immunizing action of the blood.
Thyroid secretion dilates the blood vessels so that
the attenuated toxins can be eliminated by sweat-
ing to relieve the kidney of its heavy burden,
if it has not been equal to the task imposed upon
it. Eever is the i)hysiological expression of the
severity of the struggle between the invading
enemies and the host for self-defence, that is,
the reaction that has been set up in the body to
make innocuous the toxins and thehuicro-organisms^
that produce them. Eever is the index of the
resisting power of the organism against the
virulence of the infection. It is the nature's
healing process, and indicates that the auto-
DISEASES 199
protective meclianism of the "body is active.
Absence of fever in a toxemia of any kind proves
the inability of the body to react, owing to defici-
ent sensitiveness of opsonin of the blood and the
immunizing glands, either inherited or acquired,
or to the fact that the toxin is itself a very power-
ful paralyzant or anesthetic of the sensory impres-
sions. Hyperpyrexia ( fever above 105° E. ) on
the other hand indicates the hyper-excitation of
auto defensive mechanism and the consequent
over-production of the immunizing principles,
and if long continued, might lead to the proto-
plasmic destruction of the red-corpuscles and the
endothelial cells by hemolysis and autolysis.
This excessive disintegration of the protoplasm
is indicated bv the increased excretion of nitro-
gen, sulphur and phosphorus and in extreme
cases, acetone, aceto-acetic and E-oxybutyric
acids with the urine. And this is attended with
many functional derangements. The activity of
the digestive glands is diminished, hence loss of
appetite and inanition. On hepatic cells is
imposed the heavy task of reducing excessive
metabolic wastes, especially the vast number of
red-corpuscles, and the consequence of the
hepatic hyper-activity is the greatly increased
production of the hepatic excretory product — the
200 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
4
bile. And if it is contiaued lon2r, it causes
^bilious remittentfever or malarial liemoblogiuuric
fever' {paittika jvara^ Susruta VI. 39. 12) in.
which the urine is brownish yellow in color,
containing a good deal of urobilin, less of urea,
but more of ammonia, as the excessive quantity
of sulphur and phosphorus — the disintegration-
productions of abnormal destruction of red
•corpuscles, become oxidized into sulphuric and
phosphoric acids and readily combine with
ammonia which otherwise would have been
changed into urea. There is of course pronounced
jaundice. The liver becomes fatigued and
sluggish in its activity. Gradually com-
mences the fatty and granular degeneration of
its cells. The kidney also shows its terrible
strain by fatty and fibrous infiltration, \
I, Fevers.
**Fever is caused by lesions of the body or
the mind ; for fever otherwise can not be
developed in a person without injury.'* Charaha
VL 3. 10«\
DISEASES 201
"Excessive use or abuse of *snehadi'' [Sneha
= unguents, svecla = sweating through Turkish
bath or other sudoriferous means, vamana — xo-
miting, virechaua =^ i^nrgaiion : absorption, re-
tention (of any toxic matter) or exhaustion
fever], traitmata {aJjhig/iata = shock or wound
fever), development of disease {rogotthana= symp-
tomatic fever as a reaction against the patho-
genic germs and the toxins elaborated by them),
tumesce}ice {p7Yqjaka = coct\on of tumefaction,
that is inflammatory fever), fatigue {srama=fa,ti-
gue fever), inamtion (/j.<?a?^flr= consumption, that
is consumptive or famine fever), indigestioti
(<(5/ir/za = dyspeptic fever), toxin {visa=ioxem\db)
ruental derangement[satmyarttuparyc(ya = hysteri-
cal fever), smell of poisouotis flowers {psadhl-
puspa'ga}idha= coyzn, or hay fever), worry
(so /jrt= depression fever), sudden seasonal changes
{uaksat/'a-prap'idana = stellar vexations = spring
or autumnal fever), hyimotism {ahhicharas- exor-
cism : hypnotic fever), enervatio^i {ahhisapa
= execration : nervous fever), desire ov passion
(manas or y^(YWia = unreciprocated and ungratified
sensual passion : erotic fever), hallucination
-{bhWabhisankasiie'Ar of ghosts: hallucinary
fever ), the unhygienic living of a woman that
has miscarried or has given normal birth
202 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
{puerperal fever^^ the establisliment of the
secretion of milk following childbirth {stanyava-
tarana=m.i\k fever) — these causing lesion of
the nerve etc. produces /6'y^?" in human beings."
Susruta VI. 39. 8.'^
"Excessive consumption of astringent, dry
or cold food and drinks , excessive use of vomit-
ing, purgation, sweating and snuffs ; and over-
exercise, retention of feces and urine, fasting,
traumata, venery, anxiety, sorrow, vigilance-^
excess of these things irritate the nerves."
Oliaraha II. I. 8^".
"In the erotic fever, there is a good deal of
contemplation (of the beloved object) and
81. ft^fftg^^^fq ^ %'^\ ^'JlfeWff I
3!r?TrfT =^r^^^T^ f^qm 7fi(?Tr^q%<TTfT i
^'sfRcfT^ =1^ ^t ■^\^\ im % iic
82. ^^Mg:ftcI^Tr^fqv^'^r^Tq^f3!ftf^T^^Tf?T^^«fWT7lf ij^es^R'irT'-
DISEASES 2 OS
sighing ; in the fever of sorrow, tears ; in the
fever of fear, anxiety ; in the fever of anger,
excitement ; in tlie hallucinary fever, delusion ;
and in toxemia, unconsciousness, illusion, intoxi-
cation and enervation." Chaixiha VI, III. 115.'^
*'In the gastro-intestinal fever, there are
anorexia, indigestion, heaviness of the stomach,
the irregularity of the heart ( beat ), semi-con-
sciousness, lassitude, continued fever, unchange-
ability of the lesion, nausea, salivation, lack of
hunger, sliminess of the mouth, fatigue, somno-
lence and heaviness of the body, polyuria, loose
feces and enervation — these are the symptoms,
in the gastro-intestinal fever." Charaha VI. III.
'204« ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
*' Lassitude, watery eyes, yawning', heaviness
of the body, fatigue, inclination and disinclina-
tion by turn for fire ( to sit by the fire side ),
sun (sun-bath), breeze and water (bath), indiges-
tion, foul taste in the mouth, gradual change of
the (physical) strength, complexion and temper-
ament— these are the prodromal symptoms of
fever." ChamkaYl. 111. 25' ^
^'Excessive internal heat (hyperaemia), thirst,
delirium, quick respiration, illusion, pain at the
joints, cessation of the perspiration and consti-
pation— these are the symptoms in hyperpyrexia
(at the onset of malarial fever the blood is driven
from the peripheral to the internal organs,
where there is excessive congestion, and while
the surface of the body shivers with chills, there
is increased high temperature)." Charaka VI.
III. 35^\
85. ^m^' T?T^ ^T^ ?_.»iiiF* ^i ^w: I
86, ^'rTffftsf^^^^T w^w. ^^^^ -^w. I
DISEASES 205-
Thougli the principle of Hindu medicine is
based basically on humoral pathology, it seems-
Susruta formed a vague relationship of malaria
with mosquito bites and swampy localities,
where mosquitoes are developed. And it was
ascribed to a particular kind of mosquito, and
not to all classes of them.
"There are five types of mosquitoes {masaka
belonging to the 'CiiUcidae* family, consisting
nearly of one hundred genera' and eight hundred
species), namely ^marine' (samiidr a =.co£ist?i\ mos-
quitoes ), 'globular' {parimandala = ^i^\i\i2^^^ the
mosquitoes belonging to the genus '"migarliininad
which has strongly curbed proboscis), culex ele-
phanti ( hastimasaka), 'dark' {ki^sna = taeniorhyn-
chus) a,n.dL ^mountainous' {parvvatii/a = ano^hel&sy
The biting of the * mountainous' mosquito (ano-
pheles) produces an effect like that of deadly
insects." Susruta V. 8. 18**^.
''If the part bitten by a spider becomes swoll-
en, A7hite, black, red or bronzed (cyanotic or de-
generative changes), and there are symptoms of
206 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
fever, burning pain, dyspnea, hiccup and head-
ache, the prognosis is usually bad." Charaha
VI. 23. 45««.
"There is a kind of mountainous mosquito
whose bite causes symptoms like the bite of
deadly spiders {luta — aranea)"^*^.
According to medical experts, tQri\?in{trt'iya'ka)
and quartan {oJiaturthaka) fevers ( of malarial
origin ) are produced by nervousness ; while the
valley or the marsli aupattjaha — at the foot-hill
of the mountains, that is the swampy Tarai of the
Himalayas where anopheles is found in large
numbers and malaria is endemic ), and drink or
intoxication ( madyasamudbhava — produced by
wine ) fevers are ascribed to blood-pollution
( ^i^^«^-XT^a = corruption of the bilious principle,
which is the blood ). Pneumonia {pralepalca) and
88. ^^m'. ^m\ ^m ^mv. ^m ^\ fw^fni^^.' ii
88. (a) cR'w.fiT^^ «T3fi^Ci^=^iqi: ^psi'^^^'t: i
DISEASES 207
influenza (vatavalasaJca) fevers are said to be of
phlegmatic origin. Susruta VI. 39. 25^ ^
It has now been definitely proved that the
mosquito of the genus of anopheles transmits the
deadly malaria germ from man to man. It may be
possible, however, that there are other carriers of
malarial pathogenesis. And anopheles is not the
only genus that is guilty. Yellow fever is trans-
mitted by Stegmia calopus, dengue fever by
Culex fatigans, tilaria bancrof ti by Culex fatigans.
But all anopheles do not carry malarial protozoa.
Anopheles has nearly one hundred species (Culex
two hundred), of which only forty species have
been proven experimentally to be the hosts in
malaria and in India there are onlv ten of them
as follows : Myzomyia culicfactes, Myzomyia lis-
tonii, Myzomyia turkhundi, Pyretophorus jey-
porensis, Myzorhynchus barbirostris, Myzorhyn-
chus sinensis. Nyssorhynchus theobaldi, Nysso-
rhynchus stephensii, Nyssorhynchus f uliginosus
and Nyssorhynchus maculipalpis. According
to Theo])ald none of the anoplielinae species
208 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
of Eeltinella, Bironella, Aldrichia, Chagasia^
Chrystia, Kerteszia, Myzorhynchella and Lepho-
scelomyia have been found to be the bearers
of malarial germs.
But the protozoan parasites of the red blood-
corpuscles that cause remittent or intermittent
malarial fevers, (ire not the same, and they appear
under four chief forms : tertian is caused by
Plasmodium vivax, quartan fever by plasmodium
malaria, estivo-autumnal fever or subtertiau
malarial fever by plasmodium falciparum {laver-
nia malaria^ plasmodium 'precox ), quotidian
fever by plasmodium falciparum quotidianum.
These four kinds of blood-parasites produce
different reactions in the organism according to
'p-
thsir characteristics. Plasmodium ^ ivax re
quires forty-eight hours to complete the cycle of
schizogony and sporulates principally in the
spleen, liberating toxins which are hemolytic,
pyrogenous and hemozoanous, and will provoke
an attack of fever with single brood in the human
host every forty-eight hours, that is on the third
day and accordingly it is called 'tertian* {tvt'iyaka)^.
and in the intervening period there is remission
of fever. Plasmodium malaria needs seventy-two
hours to complete its schizogon, and it principally
sporulates in the peripheral blood, and the liber-
DISEASES 209
ated toxiti causes a severe constriction of cutane-
ous vessels, thus provoking shivering chills on
the surface and chattering teeth, though
tlie temperature of the blood is rising rapidly,
and driving the blood centripetally, causing
congestion of the internal organs ; as it takes
seventy-two hours for the cycle, that is, the fever
appears every fourth day with a single brood
of infection, it is called ''quartern'' {chatnrthakd).
Laverania malaria is irregular in its sporulation
and needs about from thirty-six to forty-eight
hours for schizonomy, and as it sporulates in the
red corpuscles of the blood, it causes an immense
destruction of them, and as the pathogenic
protozoon needs high temperature for its
development, the fever takes place in the autumn,
and is therefore called ^estivo-autumnaV (mradiija).
This is the most malignant of malarial fevers,
for it not only causes a heavy destruction of the
red corpuscles of the blood, and it is calculated
that there are nearly 25, 000, 000, 000, 000 red
corpuscles in an adult human being, and it needs
about 3, 000, 000, 000 of them to be affected to
cause an acute fever, and if it be below 250, 000,
000, the malarial fever does not manifest and
remains in a latent state ; but it can also provoke
serious lesion in the brain, pancreas, liver, spleen.
14
210 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
and othei' internal organs by forming thrombi
through blocking the capillary passage by the
accumulation of plasraodia, swollen endo-
thelial cells laden with hemozoan and sporules.
The bilious remittent fever ( bilious hemoglo-
binuric or blackicater fever =pitta-jvm^a)
is also caused bv it by the excessive destruction
of erythrocytes which necessarily imposes a
heavy labor on the liver, with the consequent
production of excessive quantity of bile, vvhich
produces jaundice of the tissues and also appears
in the urine with other pigments ( hemozoan )
and the urine looks from brownish yellow to
blackish in color. The quotidian ( anyedyusha )
fever may be produced by plasmodium falsi-
parum quotidianum which takes twenty-four
hours for schizogony, or by three broods of
Plasmodium malaria, triple quartan fever, the
parasites coming to maturity on three successive
days ), two of plasmodium vivax { double tertian
fever ), or two of laverania malaria {double estivo-
mtfttmnal or double subtertiafi fever).
At the onset of malarial fever, all these
types tend to be irregular, for the simple reason
that the pathogenic sporozoa are of different
n»es and inoculated at different times, and only as
the disease proceeds, the fever becomes regular^
DISEASES 211
possibly because the parasites that can not
conform to the age period of the majority in
their schizogony, when the organism offers
least resistance) overwhelmed by the combined
attack of the parasites and tiio toxins liberated
bv them becomes exterminated by the anti-
toxins of the blood) produced as a reaction.
"The fever that lasts for seven, ten or twelve
days without interruption, is called 'smitata'
( simple continued fever, produced by a bacillus,
resembling coli communis, or the remittent fever
produced by spirocheta carteri, known also as the
relapsing fever or typhus recurrens) ; the fever
that appears twice in day and night, is called
\mtata* {doitle-quotidian or Kala acar, produced
by a protozoan parasite Leishnmiia donovan\
and it grows in large numbers by fission, and i^
principally found in the liver, spleen, bone-
marrow, ■ lymphatic glands and to a less extent^
in the pancreas, kidneys, suprarenals, lungs and
testicles) ; the fever that appears on every third
day, is called 'trtiyaha* {tertian) ; and which
appears on every fourth day, is called tho
*chaturthaka' {quartan):* Smritta VI. 89. 31"* .
212 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINB
'*Tlie unhygienic living after the relief from
(the primary onset of) the fever, aggravates the
lesion, and owing to the low vitality (of the
organism) deranges nerves and phlegma, and
causes the development of double-quotidian
{satata = kala-azar), quotidian {auyedyuska)^ ter-
tian (trtlyaka)^ quartan (chaturthaka) and pneu-
monic (^raZ5/?aA;a ) acute fevers." Susniia YI.
39. 22»\
*'Tremor, irregular onset of fever, congestion
of neck, face and lips, insomnia, suppression of
sneezing, desiccation of the body, pain especially
in the head and the heart, foul taste in the
mouth, constipation, flatulence (adhmana = swell-
ing) and yawning are the symptoms of 'vata'
( cerebro-spinal estivo-autumnal pernicious )
fever.
Onset of fever with rigor, diarrhoea, diminished
sleep, vomiting, tumescence of the neck, face,
lips and nose, sudoresis, delirium, bitter taste in
91. "^mm <^<ii^T^\ ffl^^rm^fTft'iim i
^ir^'rfWFR ?IWI'3*'?l' ^ffl f% II
DISEASES 213
the mouth, semi-consciousness, hyperpyrexia,
intoxicated state, polydipsia, the yellowish tinge
of the feces, urine and the eyes, and vertigo are
the symptoms in 'pitta' fever {bilious remittent
fever : known also as malarial heraoglobinuric or
black water fever).
Heaviness of the body, chills, expectoration,
horripilation, excessive sleep,sluggish circulation,
mild onset of fever, salivation, sweet taste of the
itioutli, low fever, vomiting, lassitude of the body^
indigestion, acute coryza (pr«/is^a?/a = profuse
xticretion of the watery mucus from the nose),
loss of appetite, and whiteness of the expectora-
tion and the eyes are the symptoms of *slesma*
(influenza) fever." Snsruta VI. 39. 11-13'' ^
92. ^q^r^wt tT. ^'^5^3Tt^iJ?T I
f^RTsj; ^^^nfr i\]nm ^j^ ^^ ii
h^n: ^jcrr ^^7 'g;;^! ^ifr ?t?^i i
> «••» ..•/i*;'i|»»
214* ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
M'upiive Feve?'s : "Feverishness or cliilliness
by turns ; pains in the bones, joints and tlie
head (headache) ; watery, glazed or reddish,
dilated or contracted eyes ; hissing sounds and
pain in the ears ; neck as if covered with grains
{siika =eruTpt\ve typhoid papules); somnolence;
illusion ; delirium ; coughing ; dyspnea ; loss of*
appetite (anorexia) ; delusion ; the tongue is
rough and has the color of burnt coal (dry,
brown, thickly coated, iissured and tremulous) ;
inertia of the body ; nasal discharge mixed with
blood (nose-bleed) ; bilious sputum (vomiting) ;
agitation of the head; insomnia; angina pectoris ;
scanty perspiration, urination and defecation ;
the patient does not look emaciated ; sound in
the neck (sonorous or sibilant rales indicating
bronchitis) ; appearance of rose-red rxanthem
{kotha) and rashes (mandala); ii\)\iixsm {mukatva) ;
lesion in the circulatory system, heaviness of the
epigastrium (flatulence) ; and the delay in the
coction of the deranged humors (the long dura-
tion of the disease and convalescence from
it ) are the symptoms ef the typhoid fever."
Charaka, VI. 3. 85".
93. «%ira^^tt*mt ^^irr»T ^r^inT^ i
DISEASES 215
'* Altogether through (varied) lesion, there
are thirteen kinds of typhoid fevers^ Charaha
I. 17. W\
It is very probable that all the eruptive
fevers have been classified by Charaka, as
typhoid fevefs (smmipdta jvara)^ including in the
category typhus, paratyphoid, cerebrospinal
meningitis, measles, mumps, erysipelas, diph-
theria, toxemia, septicemia, pneumonia,puerperal
fever and small pox. Charaka and Susruta both
mention smallpox as 'masTcrika.*
*'Due to lesion of the phlegma and the biles
(circulatory blood), tiny rashes, anorexia, exuda-
tive vesicles, called *romantV (varicellaa or chicken.
1^^ qi^»^ ^W^\ gfWff^grisfirfT: 11
94.. ^^"^ ft^ncM «RiMiciii^4it^^ 11
216 AXCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
pox) appear with fe^er, itching and polydipsia,
Erom bile and phlegma (corruption of), the
tumescence of the pustules that appear all over
the body like lentils (ervum lens : ervum menus),
is called the I'ariola or small pox ( masurika )."'
Charaka VI, 12. 73' ^'\
"The painful, copper-colored, bronzed pustule
that appears all over the body and within the
mouth with burning fever, is called the variola
( masurika )." Suirnta II. 13. 30' ^
**'rhe typhoid fevers after passing through a
crisis on the seventh, tenth or twelfth day, either
become relieved or kill the patient." Susruta
VI. 39. 18'^
As it was believed that disease was due to the
derangement or the disharmonious combination
of the humors of the body, the cure lay in their
w. ^^^5 iT^in^ ^^^v. fqTj^qfrH nf^T: i
95, ^i^'^'c^sTm^^wr: wi^r: ^q^cTflRr: i
Trig -^ '^r^r^^TT^T 'T^f^^r: \\\^
96. grm f^^t ffiK ^t ^T^sfq ^T I
H^^'Ccrtt ijpr nfm <rrf^ ^f^ ^ u^c
DISEASES 217
proper combination by coction. Tlie internal^
Leat that was supposed to cause coction of tho-
liumors and thus to preserve the balance of the
liumors, requisite for normal health, was suppos-
ed to be dissipated to the peripheral organs hy
morbid agents and thus to produce fever. Cure
from a disease only took place wdien the internal
combustion ( metabolism or oxidation ) wa!§
normalized again. This was brought about by
lnygienic living and dietary regulation. Medica-
tion was but supplementary. It is well known,
that quinine, the bitter alkaloid of the cinchona
hark is a powerful remedy against the malarial
Plasmodia. Though cinchona is a native of
the South American Andes, it belongs to the
llubiaceous family of which there are many
members in India. Charaka in the treatment
of malarial fever mentions a bitter ( tiktaka )
juice of leaves or bark, or concoction of a dry
bark, but it is very hard now to identify what
he meant by it :
*'In new fever, fasting, sweating, time,
barley water and bitter extract (fiktako rasa)
cause the coction of raw humors (that is, bring
about the cure).
*''In the cerebro-spinal remittent fever and
influenza, when the patient is thirsty, give him
218 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
liot water to drink. In the bilious remittent
fever, cook bitter (bark or root) in water and
when it is cooled, give it to drink. Such a
concoction is stimulating (d'ipana = digestive),
oxidising {pacha im = which, causes coction of
the humors), (febrifuge (jcaraghna ), blood-puri-
fying (srotasam 6-6»f?/mwam = purifier of the
streams, as the blood, lymph, urine), vitalizing
{valya)^ appetizing (ritcJd-kara), sudorific {ghar-
ma-kara) and is beneficial." Charaka VI. 3.
129.''
That this treatment was only meant for
malarial fevers, is clearly indicated by the
following passage : "At the onset of the (mala-
rial) fever fasting is proper. But it should not
be followed in consumptive, nervous, phobia,
excitement, depression and fatigue fevers. By
fasting pathogenic agents {dom) are destroyed
a?id when metabolism is stimulated, the body
y7. ^Tf^ ^?^ ^5)Mt q^r*ir«drtt*t T^: t
DISIDASBS 219
becomes light and hunger appears. But fasting
should not lower vitality (that is fasting for a
longer period than is necessary is injurious), for
recovery depends on the vitality of the patient,
and the object of treatment is recovery."
ChamkaW. 3. 128^'.
**In all kinds of fever, treat it by counter-
acting the causative factors. In fatigue,
consumption and wound (abhighata=\^o\mdiOY:
traumatism) fevers, treat the original disease."
Smruta YI. 39. 73 '\
*'As long as the fever patient does not regain
his strength (i. e. does not completely recover),
he should not indulge in shower-bath {pariseka),
plunge-bath (avagaha), beverages, vomiting etc.
{smmodhana)^ inunction, day-sleep, exposure to
«#^-^«i ^^ ^ ^ ^?5m^s^ I
^
220 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
cold, exercise and sexual intercourse." Sasrutw
VI. 39. 68 ^"^
"If a fever patient suffers from indigestion, old
wine and barley broth is beneficial to him. If
a fever patient suffers from coryza and anorexia
(influenza), let him drink whey mixed with
^trikatu' (a mixture of mntM — ginger, 'mar'ioha
black pepper, plppala — longpepper ; Gr. *dia trion
piperidon' made of the same ingredients, piperis
longura, piperis nigri, and zingiberis). In an
exhaustive continuous fever, if the patient is ema-
ciated, on tlie road to recovery, mentally depress-
ed, in cerebro-spinal or bilious remittent fever,
or if the pathogenesis is not well-marked, if the
patient is desiccated, has polydipsia and burning
sensation, drinking of milk will benefit him. But
in new fever, milk should not de drunk, as it
miglit even cause death:" Susruta VI. ^^9. 63^'''.
100. tjR^^NJir?!^ #?i^^ €^^5nfH "^ i
101. ^^' H^^ fn^^j^'^i^Mf^ci f%?f?^ I
IP DISEASES 221
'^In a long-standing continuous or remittent
lever, if the patient becomes emaciated, he
should be treated by light and easily-digestible
food for his fever. Broth of a bean {mudga =
phaseolus munffo), red lentil (masura = ervum hirsK-
turn ), gram pea ( chanaka = cicer arietinum)^
plantain {musa paradisaica) , and dolichon
biflorum. The fever patient that likes meat,
can take the partridge {perdicum cheninensium),
perdicum francolinorum, black antelope {anti-
,opariim nigrarum ), hystricum, small deer, hare
{leporimi), black-tailed deer; golden-colored deer
and antiloparum albarum. The crane (gruidce)^
heron (ardeidce), peacock {pavo), chicken (gallos
doniesticos) and heath-cock {fefraoninnco), are
hard to digest and very excitant ; for this reason
they are not prescribed by many physicians.
But when the fever patient is nervous, it can
be given in a moderate quantity." Susruta VI.
39. 67'"^
1 C2. v[m f^w Wl '#^f^ ^MtfwcW I
^ 5g'«t5i^: W^^r«: <j*iMM^ ii
222 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE .^W^'
But Charaka only recommends uieir brotli
and not their flesli : liowevrrr
can be a little acidulated with &m* "ti mixta re
of pomegranate (punica irianatufn) to make it
more palatable VI. 3. 165'" \
"Milk boiled together with ginger, raisins
and dried dates, and mixed witli honey or sugar
relieves thirst and fever. Or the milk might
be diluted with water four-fold imd cooked to-
gether; this is beneficial in old fever, and the
drinking of hot milk is good in bilious remit-
103. 'm^ ^fq^^fi^rq^lrrgq^sf^i^ i
liwrsT ^WH'*!^ fft^r^^ 1^: ^mr^^ ii
DISEASES 22S
tent fever. Milk is restorative in all consumptive
fevers ; it always produces good result whether
drunk hot or cold with whatever medicine
prescribed for the particular fever." Chamka
VI. 3. 196»«*.
"The embrace of maidens that are pretty
and well-shaped, relieves the chilis of (malarial)
fevers, by imparting the natural warmth of
their body." Charaka VI. 8. 2081*^*.
"In old pneumonic or nervous fever, if the
patient suffers from chills, heat should be ap-
plied to warm him up, which is very beneficial
in such a case (drinking o\\ hot concoction,
liot wine, warm bath, hot salve and fomentations
are recommended).... The body should be covered
with warmed cotton or silken clothes. If the
104, m^wi wii'm v^'^'^am^ i
105, ^mqf^cTHT^ra cre^ 41^'»f<iiT i
'^^>r^wEi'«!n 5w?fT: M^ *«rw ii
224* ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
patient feels fatigued anoint the body witli
aloes {aqullaria agallocko ). And well-
breasted, pretty and artful maidens in the first
inflorescence of their youth, should massage
:5ently his debilitated body. And the maidens
with the face like the autumnal moon, eyes like
the blue lotjis, long-curved tremulous brows,
complexion like molten gold, bright-red lips
(like the himha fruit = memordica monadelpha)^
narrow abdomen (slender waist) but. broad ex-
pansive pelvic region, body anointed with delicate
.fragrance {croco sativa and aquilaria agallocko),
firm, round and elevated breasts, dressed in fine-
smelling, washed and white loose dress, as a
wild-creeper (entwines round a tree), should
embrace him closely. But when the patient
seems to be enlivened, then the maidens should
be removed. When by the delightful contact
of the maidens, the chills have disappeared, the
patient should take pleasant and beneficial diet."
Smruta VI. 39. 131^ "^
106. ^T^^wt^q^^ifq ^^gt: 55lcTXTtf^?i^ I
=wi^§tJi =^T«?i=: ^-jsm^ f%^,??^ I
DISKASES •22&
Prophylaxis in malarial fever can be isuku*
raed up in these words: (a) destruction of
mosquitoes ; {h) the prevention of the entrance
of the parasite into the human body; (<?) increas-
ing resistance of the body against the parasite.
As the mosquitoes require shallow, stagnant
water for breeding and development of their
larvae, the first requisite for a determined fight
against malaria, is the awakened public senti-
ment against this pernicious and malignant
»?^g: M^^\ arm; alkit^Nfrf^fvf: ii
3?|i?^i^ f^trra fir. ?pfktpT^rf H^: II
15
226 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
disease. Eor without communal co-operation,
it can not be accomplished. There should
be complete surface and subsoil drainage and
the ground should, be so levelled by filling
up the ditches and the natural depressions that
there can not be any accumulation of water
for the breeding of the mosquitoes. All the
ponds, lakes, canals and water-ways should be
deepened, and the water-plants that usually
float on the surface as safe breeding place for
mosquitoes, protecting the larvae from the fish
must be regularly and systematically removed.
Pish should be cultivated in every pond, lake
or canal, especially the ^giradinus poeciloides^
which is a voracious feeder on eggs, larvae and
pupae of mosquitoes. All trees on the bank
of the water or near the dwelling house which
takes away sunshine or interferes with free current
of air, should be felled, for the mosquitoes need
a dark place to hide in the day time. Laveran
recommends the plantation of castor oil plants
{Prophylaxie du paludism, p. 134), the odor of
which he believes drives away mosquitoes.
However the promise held by the Eucalyptus
tree has been rather deceptive. Bats appear to
be voracious feeders of mosquito larvae.
The next thing is to protect the inhabitants
DISEASES 227
tigainst the mosquito bites. Mosquitoes can fly-
nearly a mile's distance from the breeding place,
and many of them go out and bite only in the
evening and at night. And it is the females that
do the biting. The males live on vegetable and
fruit juice. The life of a female mosquito is
about a month. It bites any vertebrate it might
come across in order to get blood which it needs
as nourishment for its eggs. But it is only by
biting a malarial patient, it can be infected with
the malarial plasmodium, which it transmits to
others when biting again. Therefore to prevent
the spreading of malaria, it is necessary that the
inhabitants be protected from mosquito bites, for
in a malarial region, almost every one might har-
bor malarial germ in the blood, though the disease
is in a latent form and there is hardly any appar-
ent symptom, excepting a little malaise and lassi-
tude. The mosquito bite can be easily prevented
by using mosquito wire netting in the windows,
which does not prevent the circulation of air.
Where it can not be done, mosquito-nets must be
used in the bed. And if it is necessary to go out
at night, one should take care to wrap the body-
in clothes or smear the body witJi carbolated
vaseline and to use a fine-gauze net round the
lace and neck. . ^
228 ANCIENT HINDF MEDICINE
Quinine is the best prophylactic and curatire
agent against malaria. In the endemic malarial
region, it is a wise policy to take 2 to 4 grains of
quinine daily, as a preventive medicine, which
seems to be much more effective than larger do-
ses at longer intervals. Chlorhydrate of quinine
is preferable in an irritant stomach, or Sulphate
of quinine can be given which is much cheaper^
During the acute stage of the malarial fever, it
is better that quinine be administered in doses
not smaller than one gram, nearly four hours
before the expectation of the chills, as
quinine takes nearly four hours to act, and ife
should act energetically at the time of the
sporulation — when the young broods are liber--
ated and w^hich provokes the chill, and the sporu-
les then should be destroyed, for it is very doubt-
ful how far the old garnets are affected by quinine.
Quinine should be given every day, preferably
by mouth and in powder form or in solution, and
the bitter taste can be covered and neutralised
by addition of syrup glycyrrhizae ( syrup of lico-
I'ice) every day when the attack is expected, un-
til the disease is broken, as it may be due to
doilble infection by the tertian, estivo-autumnal
and quartan parasites or to the treble infection
of the quartan. And with the exception of rein-
DISEASES 229
fection, relapses can be usually prevented by
giving quinine once a week for four weeks from
iXie occurrence of tlie last cbill.
During tlie paroxysm, treatment needs simply
iio be symptomatic : in chills hot drink, warm co-
vers and hot fomentations can be applied to relieve
the sliivering cold sensation, and during the suc-
ceeding hot period cold application on the head to
relieve headache and cold drink to relieve thirst.
But the sweating period should not be shortened
"by antipyretics as it might harm the organism by
retaining the malarial toxins which perspiration
tends to eliminate, and that is why the sweat of
a malarial patient has a peculiar odor.
It goes without saying that nourishing food
and hygienic living strengthens the resisting
power of the organism against any infection,
II.- Diarrhoea.
"Excessive consumption of indigestible ( ali-
'fiientary diarrhoea provoked by the irritation of
the intestinal mucosa through the indigestible
residue ), fatty (fatty d. or d. adiposa, caused by
the splitting of the fat into irritant fatty acids,
or as in jaundice with the deficiency of the bile,
by the evacuation of the undigested fatty sub-
230 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
stances), drj-' (mechanical or serous d. caused by
an augmentation of pressure within the alimen--
tary canal with exaggerated serous transudatioia
into the intestine), hot {inflammatory d.), liquid
{asthenic d. caused by the fermentation brought
by the dilution of the digestive enzymes by an
exceedingly large quantity of liquid), coarse {lin-
terio d. in which the undigested or half-digested
food particles are contained in the dicbarges ),
ice-cold {congestive d. is induced by mechani-
cally stimulating the peristalic contractions and
possibly glandular secretions by a large quantity
of cold water, thereby increasing the amount and
fluidity of the intestinal contents, and by diluting
the gastro-intestinal secretions which interfering
with digestion, provokes fermentation ; the
drinking of ice-cold v/ater and beverages cause
loose movements for they mechanically bring
about contraction of the superficial vessels of the
mucosa, followed by reaction and congestion of
the membrane, and if long continued to intesti-
aal catarrh ), and improper foods [diarrhoea is
provoked by all kinds of food poisoning, hroma-
totoxismus either putrefactive, fermentative or
infective with all toxemic symptoms : meat-poi-
soning or kreototoxismus arises from decomposed
meat ( proteus group alone or associated witlt
DISEASES 23t
colon bacilli), meat of diseased animals or infected
animals ( as tuberculosis ) ; fish-poisoning or=
ichthyotoxismus arises from eating fisli that is
venomous, or only at the spawning season or'
from feeding upon putrefactive substances or
from its decomposed ptomaine poisoning as in'
rotten egg ; milk-poisoning or galactotoxismus
arises from taking contaminated or spoilt milk r
milk may be contaminated from various sources
as it is one of the best culture mediums of patho-
sjenic germs, as from tuberculosis from a diseased
animal, dust on the animal, filthv hand of tha
milker, unclean receptacle, or, washed with
polluted water, or from exposure when left
uncovered for a considerable period, and milk
usually contains myriads of bacteria, and in it
are frequently observed colon bacilli and bacillus
enteritidis, and to a lesser extent bacillus enteri-
tidis sporogenes, staphilococci, paratyphoid and
occasionally typhoid germs ; grain-poisoning or
sitotoxismus arises from using spoilt, contaminated
or sprouting grains, as pellagra in the use of
diseased maize, or in the spoilt pea, paraplegia,
or lathyrism ( lupinosis ) in the admixture of the
grain with the seeds of the Hathyrus' ; it is well
known that sprouting potatoes contain at the
mouth of the sprouts or the greenish surface of
^2 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the skin exposed to the sun, a glycerid
alkaloid-solanine, wliile many of the mushrooms
contain another toxic alkaloid-rauscarin], mi-
cooked food (uncooked food is not only hard to
digest as cooking softens the tissues, but many
<yf the vegetables and fruits might contain fungi,
amoeba and the eggs of many intestinal worms
which are thus introduced into the alimentary
■canal where they make their habitat, and pro-
i?oke diarrhoea either by irritating the mucusa, or
causing ulceration or impaction), disharmonious
cmtibination of foods (as milk and acid, or sugar
and acid which is apt to cause fermentation in
a weak or debilitated stomach), repeated eating
before the former meal has been digested {adhya-
^a»a=sd.ab ingluvie), miiv^estioxi {dyspeptic d.)
excessive use or abuse of purgation, vomitinj^
and sweating (d. cathartica), poisoning (m. chronic
mercurial poisoning perhaps due to the corro-
ding action of its salts, there is an extensive
ulceration of the alimentary canal, followed
by fetid diarrha3a, anemia, foul breath, falling
out of the hair, brittleness of the nails,
salivation, stomatitis, buccal ulcers and entero-
clitis '^ in acute or chronic arsenic poisoning,
there is pronounced epigastric and abdo-
minal pain, followed by vomiting and diarrhfjea
DISEASES 233
of rice water and often bloody and offensive
stools, suppression of nrine or bloody urine,
neuralg-ie pains and paralysis ; in lead poisoning,
the gums have a bluish black tinge, progressive
anemia., nutritive disturbance, constipation, but
often alternating with diarrhoea), anxiety {emo-
iional d.) depression (nervous or neu7'otic d:)
polluted toater (water containing dysenteric
germs or large amount of earthly alkali as
magnesium or sodium, calcium or potassium car-
bonates, dissolved from the soil) excessive drink-
ing of spirituous liquor (in chronic alcoholism
diarrhoea results from the thickened, inflamed,
congested and often ulcerated intestinal mucosa,
imperfect gastro-intestinal indigestion, inter-
ference with colonic absorption, disturbance of
the biles due to congestion and cirrhosis of the
liver, and the effect of alcohol upon the local
and cerebro-spinal nerve-centres controlling intes-
tinal nutrition, secretion and motility, thus pro-
voking diarrhoea alternating with constipation),
mental derangement {neurogenic d.), sudden
seasonal changes (thermic or summer d. of the hot
season : it may be also induced by sun or
heat stroke accompanied by enervation,
dizziness, cramp, disturbed vision, dry skin,
rectal and vesical irritability ; in exposure to
234 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
cold and dampness, the surface of the body is
suddenly chilled with the lowering of the surface
temperature, which causes the contraction of the
cutaneous blood-vessels, leading to congestion of
the internal organs, chiefly the intestine and
viscera, and reflexly irritating the motor and
secretory nervous mechanism — thus leading to
evacuations ; in sudden change of climate,
diarrhoea may be, also, induced as hill or spruce
d. ), excessive use of lavage ( ^nechanical d. \
obstructive ( due to carcinoma, tumor, calculi,
fecal impaction or obstruction of the passage with
the tapeworms as tenia solium which is intro-
duced with incompletely cooked pork and might
grotr from 6 to 12 feet, tenia saginata, from incom-
pletely cooked beef varying in size from 10 to 25
feet, tenia lata from half- cooked fish varying in
size from 5 to 25 feet, and tenia nana (dwarf tape)
from one-fifth to one and one-fourth inches in
length ; diarrhoea is provoked by them either
because the formed feces can not pass through
the obstructed passage and only watery liquid
can ooze through, or due to irritation from the
mucosa caused by them ), and by "krimis' [worms
uncinariasis or hookworm, ascaris lumbricoides
or round worms, oxyuris vermicularis or thread-
worm, tricuris trichiura or whipworm, trematodes
DISEASES 235
or flukeworms and strongyloides intestinalis ;
microbes : entaroebazer rhizapodes in amebic
dysentery, flagellates ormastigophores in flagel-
late dysentery, ciliates ( balandium coli, infuso-
ria ) in ciliar dysentery, bacillus dysenterise in
bacillary dysentery, spirillum cbolera asiatica in
cholera, bacillus typhosus in typhoid fevers,
gonococcus among the pedestrians with extensive
lesion of the anal mucosa, plasmodium in bilious
remittent fever ] these causes produce
dirrhoea." Susriita VI. 40. 2^^*.
**Slow-moving (cya?;a = ascaris). agile {vijava
= flagellates), creeping (^^^j^^/cr = trematodes or
flukeworm), stealing (/^•ipy6»= uncinariasis or
hookworm), knotted-feet (ffandi(,-pada = tenia),
thread-like (chnru = oxyuris vermicularis or
thread -worm) and two mouthed ((:/i;mw/(;^« = trichu-
ris trichiura or whipworm) are the *krimV (para-
sites) of the feces ; they are whitish and minute ;
they move in the lower intestine and cause (bor-
107. 5^^f^^^^'i!r-5^^^nffi5^ci^: I
236 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
1
I '
ing pain ; and among them there are some that
have flagella puchcua as in flagellates) and they
are Tjroad. These fecal 'h'imi' (worms and other
microbic parasites) bring about colics, dyspepsia,
jaundice, intestinal obstruction, weakness, over-
flowing of the watery discharges, heart lesion
and non-formation of the feces."
SmrutaYL 54.4'"'.
"The prodromes of diarrhoea are boring
pains in the heart, umbilicus, coccygeal region,
abdomen and the groin, lassitude of the body,
flatulence, constipation, tympanites and indiges-
tion." Susruta VI. 40. 4^ " \
* 'Abdominal pains, oliguria, sounds in the
alimentary canal, prolapsus ani, lassitude of the
108. ^5?cn T^^m: ^T^mfmm ^m ^m^ i
t^^^p^^ H"^*: ^^^^ *f^^ 1% II
109. '^^fiTqR^5^f%eii'?-sii^rTOr?rf^9m^^: i
DISEASES 23'7
srroin, tln'gh and the knee and the evacuation of
raucus-covered (saphena^' frothy) dark-brownish,
hardened scybla in small quantities with gas —
these are the symptoms of nervous ( dysenteric)
diarrhoea.
"Dark-yellowish ( in biliary obstruction ),
greenish (due to the presence of unchanged bili-
verdin in the discharges as in acute enteritis), or
reddish (tarry stools may be due to cancer or
ulcer of the intestine or dysentery), unformed,
serous (like the juice of pressed meat), foul-smell-
ing and steamy discharges rush forth in bilious
diarrhcEa (cholera asiatica) ; in this disease the
patient becomes exhausted and becomes over-
powered by polydipsia, vertigo and hyperemia of
the internal organs. '
"Whitish (rice-water, or containing undigested
fat) and pasty stool appears noiselessly, mixed
with mucus in phlegmatic diarrhoea ; in this
disease the patient suffers from collapse, somno-
lence, lassitude and repeated evacuations ; and
the patient becomes irritable and there is horripi-
lation (contraction of the peripheral vessels).
**In the typhoid fevers, the above mentioned
symptoms appear, but the color of the evacuation
is varied and the patient suffers from polydipsia ;
it is very, hard to cure and the prognosis is especi-
238 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
ally unfavorable for the infants and for the
aged." Susruta VI. 40. 5-8 » ^ \
"If in cholera asiatica (visuchtka) and tym-
phenites {alasaka), the teeth (the gum), lips and
nails become cyanotic, there is a comatose state,
active vomiting, orbits of the eyes are sunk in
the sockets, the voice becomes vreak and the
110. JCfjjfiw^: ^^^s^^
DISEASES 239
joints become relaxed, then the prognosis is very
unfavorable." SusrutaNl. 56. 8^^^ .
**In acute diarrhoea, if the feces is formed or
shows symptoms of being formed, and the vitali-
ty of the patient is not very low, there has not
been much emaciation of flesh nor blood much
thinned, appetite and digestion have returned,
then the patient can be cured with difficulty.
But if the patient has the following symptoms,
notwithstanding the above-mentioned presenta-
tions, he is to be regarded as incurable. Incur-
able symptoms are being mentioned : if the stool
has the color of concoction (dark-brownish), redd-
ish, like that of the spleen and fat ; or is (in con-
sistency ) like water in which meat has been
washed, curdled milk (semi-fluid), clarified but-
ter, bone-marrow, oil, butter, milk, condensed
milk, or deep bluish (with the development of
indican in pronounced putrefaction ), reddish,
lilackish ( in bilious remittent or black-
water fever ), or transparent like water or the
brownish-black color of the banana flowering-
stem (clay or chocolate color stool appears in
111. W. ^ST^'^^'HeHi-rMy'^'^W^S*^'*''^^^^^' I
240 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
absence in urohilin^ that is in the deficiency of
the biliary secretion in the intestine ), very
fatty, pale-greenish or dark-greenish ( due to
unchanged biliverdin ), or multi-colored ^ or
is turbid, lubricous or mixed with threadlike
substance ( oxyiiHs vermiculaHs or thread-
worms), mucus or like the ocellate spots on the
tail-feather of a peacock (flakes) ; the odor is like
that of a decomposed corpse (cadaverous), putrid,
pyogenous or like raw fish (fishy) ; if the feces
attracts quickly the flies, or various viscid sub-
stances are observed in it (the stool may contain
undigested food, blood, mucus, pus, membranes,
fat ; calculi from the gall-bladder, intestines, sto-
mach, salivary glands ; intestinal parasites, exfo-
liated polypi and nerotic sloughs), or the dischai-ge
contains very little feces (a normal stool should
have hard but flexible consistency, golden-brown-
ish in color, cylindrical in form, nearly an incli
in diameter, three to four inches in length ; but
if it is of small calibre, it is indicative of prolapr
sus ani or an annular stricture of the rectum ;.,
ribbon-shaped or flattened stool of stricture or
cancer of the rectum ; roundish masses of liard-
ened feces {scyhala) may shoot out in dysentery
or is indicative of the gastric ulcer, gastric dila-
tation, cancer of the rectum or chronic coiistipa-
DISEASES 241
tion) or is free from it {serous) and the patient
suffers from polydipsia, hyperemia of the intern-
al colics or its insensibility to pain ; if there is
anal fistula or ulceration, or hemorrhage of the
pile or the pile does not go back to its own place,
stricture of the anus, emaciation of the body,
■thinning of the blood (anemia due to the reduction
of the red corpuscles), pain in the lumbar region,
anorexia, morbid delirium and coma, or the
diarrhoea suddenly ceases, that patient is to be
regarded as incurable." Charaka VI. 19. 11^^-.
"In the first stage sf diarrhcsa, fasting is bene-
ficial. After fasting, for relief from diarrhoea
barley water should be given with (astringent)
concoction ( paohana ). If patient still suffers
112. M'%\ ^fWM aiW^fq^T q^nfT^=^'5?lt^5ftf%c[^ W^^-
16
242 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
from colics and flatulence, give him an emetic
with piper longum (which is carminative) and
rock salt, dissolved in water. After vomiting
light food can be given, barley water and piper
longum. But if this does not relieve diarrhoea
then everv mornin» a concoction of turmerics
{curcuma longum) or sweet flag {acorum calamum)
should be given to drink." Siisruta VI. 40.16^^^.
**In morbid diarrhoea (dysentery) and stran-
gury, a (rectal) enema (»as(^i= clyster) of con-
coction of liquorice root {glycyrrJiiza glabra)
and blue lotus ( nyphaea cacriilea) mixed with
milk, clarified butter and honey (for irrigation)
should be given ; hemorrhagia proctica, aesus
and fever are also relieved by this enema; If
there is bloody stool an oily enema of soothing
and honeyed herbs should be given daily either
DI3KASSS 24S
at day or at night. An oily enema relieves the
nervous irritation where it is administered ; and
if the nerves are subdued, ti»e dysentery is also
cured/' Stisruta Y I. 4.0. 90'' \ . i
Ilectal irrigation uitli sootliing oil or steri-
lizing: medical solution or their combined emul-
sion is certainly one of the best means known
to combat pernicious, ulcerated and resistant
diarrhoea and is very effectively utilized in :ad-
vanced modern treatment, Enemata serve to
dislodge or to prevent fpcal impaction where
ulcers have healed and a stenosis has formed in
the lower bowel, and for evacuating gas, putre-
fying matter, toxic discharges and other irritants
within the rectum. Aq enema is generally givea
in constipation. And in an enema the fluid
administered has to be limited to two to three
quarts or it might cause distension, pain, ptosis
111'. 5fr?ret ^(?§< ^ f«w^ v^^T^Hi
24t4i ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
or paresis of the intestine and in severe cases
even the rupture of its membrane. While in
irrigation, there is no limit to the quantity of
fluid, for the solution is allowed to flow into and
out of the gut through a double or return-flow
tube (J,rrigator) or by making the fluid flow into
the bowel by way of an artidcial opening
(appendiceal or cecal) and making it flow out at
the anus through a proctoscope or a pipe intro-
duced for the purpose, thus escaping as fast as
the solution enters into the bowel. Therefore
irrigation serves by the soothing and antiseptic
properties of its content to heal the local
ulcerated lesions, prevent the formation of
impacted fecal masses, to wash out the sores and
to neutralize the toxins, to remove toxins, irrita-
ting pus, blood, mucus, tissue debris and feces, to
dislodge and wash away parasites, and to relieve
enterospasm, colics and tenesmus. By vastl
is meant to include the functions of an enema
and irrigator according to the needs.
Improvement invariably follows daily irriga-
tion of the intestine. But it is not so much due
to the medicaments as to the dissolvent and
cleansing quality of water and washing away the
toxins, so that the organism does not suffer so
ioauch from their absorption. IJniloubtedly
DISEAiJES 24-5
aniiseptic, deodorant, soothing and stimulating
medicaments exert beneficial influence, especially
in inflammatory, ulcerative and obstructive lesions
of the intestine, but they are only of secondary
value. The only thing that is important is to
irrigate the intestine as often as possible with
body temperature of the solution. Positive good
result is obtained by daily irrigation with
warm saline solution, camomile, flax-seed,
oak-bark tea, pinas canadensis ( 1 p. c. ),
borolyptol, potassium permanganate, glyco-
thymolin or listerin (3 p. c. ), salicylic acid,
alum, zinc sulphate or silver nitrate ( 1 p. c),
boric acid or Carlsbad salt ( 2 p. c. ) or thymol
( I : 2000 ). In advanced cases of deq)-seated
ulceration and erosions, it is better to use the
above solutions a little stronger or ichtliyol or
balsam of Peru ( 2 to 5 p. c. ), salicylate of soda
( 3 to 5 p. c, ) and bisulphateof quinine (1 :1000)
especially in entamebic and bacillary dysentery^
Oils named according to the degree of tlieir
proven usefulness, olive, sesame, sweet almond,
cotton seed, liquid vaselin and neutralol, either
alone or in emulsion with the above-mentioned
medicaments, can be used witli marked residt.
Propyhlaxis : As water seems to be the
principal source of infection of cholera asiatica.
-46 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
typhoids and dysentery, and in water spirillum
cholera asiatica, bacillus typhosus and pathoge-
nic agents of dysentery ( entameha dysenteria^
hacillus dysenteria, halantidium coli ) can all live
and thrive for a long time, it is essential that all
drinking water must be thoroughly boiled and
filtered. Milk also must be boiled before it is
drunk, as it is often contaminated by water
from suspicious sources. All dejecta from the
victim of any of these diseases must be dis-in-
f ect<3d with a five per cent solution of carbolic
acid, one per cent of chloride of lime or one-
fortieth per cent of corrosive sublimate, so that
all the pathogenic microbes be destroyed and
they can not enter into the soil, especially if it be
saturated with moisture where they can multiply,
and retain their vitality and virulence for j^ears.
This also applies to urine and sputum. Nor
should any vegetable or fruit be eaten raw or
not tlioroughly cooked which might have grown
on the soil or fallen upon it, where there is the
least possibility that the soil has been fertilized
by human feces. And all coarse vegetables
and unripe fruits which might leave a good
deal of irritant residue, should be avoided. It
is true that these germs have been found living
in harmless, inert vegetative state without
DISEASES 21-7
provoking any lesion in the gastro-intestiual
tract where they have been harboured, and the
predisposing cause of their development is the
malnutrition, fatigue, over-work and exhaustion
of the organism. Yet it must be admitted that
it is very dangerous to sustain such potential
enemies.
In the treatment of typhoid and cholerale
diarrhosa, there Skve two fundamentally opposed
theories. One is the destruction and removal
of the vibrios and to neutralize the toxins by
s, powerful antiseptic purgative like calomel
( 3 to 5 grains with 6 to 12 grains of sodium
bicarbonate ) and after this initial dose to
administer small doses ( one-tenth to one-twen-
tieth grain ), every half or quarter hour until
the symptoms improve or the patient passes
into algide stage. Some strongly recommend
the administration of castor oil ( half an ounce
emulsified with chloroform ) before giving
calomel. And to inject saline solution (1.25
per cent solution of salt, prepared by dissolv-
ing 2 drachms of salt in one pint of water )
at blood temperature, ten to fifteen ounces
every half an hour to counteract the circulatory
disturbance through the evacuations.
The other theory is to spare the vitality of
248 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the patient wbicli is seriously dissipated by
repeated evacuations, and for this purpose a
strong astringent like tannic acid ( kino, cateclm^
rhatania are to be preferred to pure tannic acid )
should be introduced into the rectum one to
two litters daily in one per cent solution at a
little above the body temperature. This seems,
to have shown good result. And if there are
evidences of toxic accumulation and fecal reten-
tion, calomel is to be given every two hours
in doses of 0.03 to 0.05 gram. The patient must
be confined to bed; The body should be kept
warm by fomentation. To quench thirsty
sterilized water should be given, preferably
acidulated with the juice of pomegranate, but
any other fruit juice or milk under no circum-
stances. During convalescence pigeon, dove
or chicken broth with rice, with aromatic but
non-irritant spices is to be preferred, but all
coarse and irritant food should be avoided.
In puerperal dlarrhcBa (sutika) which is usual-
ly caused by the invasion of the blood by the
streptococci, staphilococci, united with gono-
cocci, coli bacilli and other micro-organisms
through a wound of the uterus at child-birth or
in miscarriage by careless, septic handling and
spreading of the germs, treatment should be
DISEASES 24&-
more or less confined to increase t)ie resisting,
power, bacteriolytic and agglutinative functions
of the blood by dietary and hygienic regulations.
The symptom-complex of septicemia (suHka)
commences usually within a week after infection.
At the onset there is chilliness with low and
moderate fever, but which rises and tends to be-
come of continued type with decided daily
remission. If however pyogenic germs have
also got admission into the blood, tlie fever sets
in with rigor, there is high temperature with
steep curve and daily remission with sweating,
like malarial remittent fever. However, the
fever runs an irregular course. But it may be
complicated by previous or post malarial infec-
tion. As compared with septicemia, pyemia
exhibits recurring chills, deeply remitting fever
and sweats, rapid wasting and moderate icterus ;.-.
while in septicemia the chilliness is only felt at
the onset of the fever which runs a mild conti-
nuous type with no sweats and jaundice is much
lighter. Headache, marked anorexia, nausea and
diarrha3a are the usual symptoms of septicemia
{satikd). The pulse is rapid, small and compressible.
The spleen may be palpably swollen ; petechial
spots are not uncommon ; rashes or herps might
also appear. Slight toxemic jaundice is alsa
'250 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
usually seen. The urine usually contains
albumin, leucocytes, red-cells and tube casts.
The leucocytes are increased and there is an
immense destruction of the red-corpuscles of the
blood, leading often to hemoglobinemia and
liemoglobinuria. Loss of appetite is very
pronounced and there is no desire to partake of
any kind of food and there is a special disgust to
meat. The stool is emptied with severe tenesmus
and consists of mucus mixed with blood. Often
the joints become painful and swollen, and the
skin of those parts reddish. Respiration is rapid
but there is no dyspnea. But there may be
complications of broncliitis or pneumonia.
Prognosis is not very favorable except in
cases where within 6 to 8 weeks the temperature,
respiration and pulse slowly tend to be normal.
The treatment should chiefly consist ef hygiene
and dietary. The patient must be confined to
bed. All movements should be restricted as much
as possible, as movement tends to spread the in-
fection. Even after convalescence has set in, the
patient shall remain in bed, at least for four
weeks and all physical motion and mental
excitement should be forbidden. However it is
Tery desirable that the room is airy, bright and
■cheerful, so that there is no oppressive dullness
DISEASES 251
and niouotony. Eood should be varied, easily
digestible, appetizing and nutritious. However,
all irritating spices must be avoided though
aromatic and sweet-smelling substances can be
added with advantage, with only exception to
old wine which is very well tolerated in 'sutikd'.
Meat broth of: pigeon, dove, chicken, tender
goat or lamb ( from lamb, fat should be taken
out ) is very useful in fighting this tragic malady
which pitilessly transforms the long-dreamt
happy motherhood into painful suffering and
sad struggle for life. Lean, light fish can be
given in any appetizing way, but fatty and heavy
fish should be avoided.
Antistreptococcic serum which is calculated
to destroy the bacteria either by producing
agglutins or phagocytosis can be injected three
times daily with promising result unless there is
pyomia, in wliich case it is apt to do positive
harm according to Menzer whose serum has
good reputation for its efficacy. The inunction
of unguentum is claimed by Crede'to be beneficial.
But none of these preparations have given
completely satisfactory results. They are more
or less empirical. The antipyretics are recommend-
ed by some.
But as fever is the expression of the bodily
252 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
reaction against the toxic products of the in-
vading micro-organisms, suppression of fever is-
apt to do rather more harm than good unless
absolutely necessary to reduce the temperature
and relieve certain nervous symptoms. More-
over all tlie antipyretics — antipyrin, phenacetin,
acetanilid, malakin, kryofene, lactophenin and
others are all coal-tar products. And the use of
these drugs is followed by depression and some-
times serious collapse. Therefore its repeated
use in continued and prolonged fever might
endanger the life of the patient by heart failure
which is seriously damaged by this disease^
thougli the temperature of fever is thereby
reduced. Quinine of course in non-malarial
septicemia, is hardly of any value. Only it is.
very us^'ful when 'suHka' is complicated by
malarial iifection.
Frophylaxis in 'sutika' is the absolute aseptic
handliiiu at every child-birth, for otherwise
with le;js wound or abrasion of the female genital
organs w'nicii is inevitable, circulatory system
may be invaded by pathogenic micro-organism&
through lymph channel or veins. All the instru-
ments must be thoroughly sterilized, and
sterilized irlove should be used. Genital organ
also should be carefully examined before delivery
DISEASES 253
for any infections disease, especially gonorrhea.
in case of gonorrhea all precautions must ho
taken and the baby's eyes should he waslied with
one to two per cent silver-nitrate solution, or
better still — Argyrol in 1-50 to 1-20 solution to
prevent the affection of the eyes with its virus
{ophthalmia neonatorum).
III-Diahetes.
**The causes, lesions and the organs tliat are
affected which provoke temporary (alimentary)
diabetes are as follows : too often an excessive
consumption of various kinds of new cereals,
bean-broths (of new pisum sativum and phaseolus
roxhurghi) seasoned with clarified batter, meat
of animals and amphibious creatures, vegetable-
leaves, sesame-seeds, rice or wheat cakes, rice-
pudding, rice and lentil curry, pulf-corn, sugar-
cane-juice, milk, fermenting milk, fluid-food,
sweet-meats and the intemperate eating of other
products which are phlegmatic (reduces meta-
bolism), fattening and diuretic — they are etiologic
factors of diabetes (that is, the excessive consump-
tion of carbohydrates in various forms above the
assimilative power of the organism). Excessive
liquid phlegraa is the pathological production
and abnormal accumulation of fat, flesh, per-
25J( ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
spiration, (production of) semen, blood, marrow,,
lymph, chyle and lecithin (oja) are the predispos-
ing causes ( become affected ) "C/iarctka II. 4,
There are various kinds of diabetes : "The
urine is whitish, painless (micturition) and
aquatic in ^udaka-meha' [diabetes Insipidfis, in
which the quantity of urine is enormously
increased ( 10 to 30 pints), it is light-pale in color
and the specific gravity is low (1.002 to 1.007) ;
the total urea output is slightly increased, but it
does not contain albumin, sugar or casts ; only
inosite ( muscle-sugar ) is met with on rare
occasions. Except excessive thirst and loss of
fluid, the patient otherwise might be in apparent
good health. This disease is supposed to be of
nervous origin] ; the urine is (sweetish) like the
DISEASES 255
sugar-cane juice in ^ikm-meha' ( diabetes mellitiis
or glycosuria in which tlie urine contains one to
ten per cent of glycose, is pale, acid and has a
sweetish odor ; the quantity of urine is greatly
increased (5 to 20 pints) and is usually of high
specific gravity (1.030 to 1.045) ; urea is in-
creased and in advar)C<^d stage of the disease
acetone, diacetic and B-oxybutyric acid may be
present. This disease is due to the lesion of the
pancreas which seews to control the carbohybrate
metabolism) ; the urine is like spirituous liquor
in *siira-meha'' [acetonuria in which a large
amount of acetone is excreted with the urine,
indicating incomplete oxidation of albumiaes
and fats, especially in absence of carbohydrate
which is needed for their complete combustiono
Acetonuria is met with in inanition, typhoid
fever, pneumonia, acute miliary tuberculosis,
acute rheumatic fever, cancerous cachexia
intestinal auto-intoxication, septicemia and in
diabetes, especially when sugar is completely
withdrawn from diet fur some time or susrar
metabolism is disturbed. Acetone is a colorless
mobile liquid of pleasant odor, produced commer-
cially by the destructive distillation of acetates
(whence the name ^pyroacetic spirit')^ and of
sugar, cellulose and varioub organic compounds.
256 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Acetone is the simplest representative of the
aliphatic ketones and is known as '^demethyl-
i'-etone\ It has some anesthetic quality and
smells as etlier. Pure alcohol when ingested
in excess or under certain pathological condition
of the alimentary canal passes with the urine (A.
E,onchese : L"* analyse desurins, p. 306) ; urination
is painful and the urine contains sand-like minute
but hard and angular crystals (uric acid sands)
in 'slkata-meha' {[/ravel — very small concretions,
usually of uric acid, calcium oxalate or phos-
phates, are formed in the kidney and pass through
ureter with the urine) ; repeated micturition of
phlegmatic (colorless, jellylike) and viscous
substance in mnairmeha^ [ fibrinuria in which a
colorless sticky sediment {coagulum)^ or if much
febrin is present, the conversion of the urine
into a jellylike mass upon standing takes place.
It is due to the presence of fibrinogen and a
ferment capable of forming fibrin. It occurs in
cases where the plasma of the blood enters some
portion of the urinary tract, as in chyluria, crou-
pous inflammation of the tract, villous growths
in the bladder] ; the urine is clear and saline in
'lavanameha* ( chlorides are normally present
'in the urine and are daily excreted from 8 to
10 grams ; but a persistent increase of 15 to 30
DISEASES 257
grams occurs in the prodromal stage of general pa-
resis and diabetes insipidus, during convalescence
from lobar pneumonia and post convulsive stage
of epilepsy) ; there is horripilation ( peripheral
contraction) and the urine is whitish like thick
rice-paste water {albuminuria occurs in acute
nephritis, chronic parenchymatous nephritis and
urethritis) ; the dispharge is turbid and thick in
*sandra-meha^ {gleet in chronic urethritis causes
a thin whitish discharge, but becomes, also, thick
and yellowish under various causes. The origin
of the discharge is the numerous mucous follicles,
lining that portion of the urethra correspond-
ing to the site of the chronic inflammation.
When congested, granular or abraded patches
exist, there is a constant hyper-secretiou of mucus
or muco-pus with exfoliation of the epithelium
upon the surface of the lesion. In this condi-
tion tlie current of urine, as it passes over
the diseased portion of the canal, rolls up into
strings or threads the desquamated epithelium
and muco-purulent deposit upon the surface and
this appears in the urine as the delicate thready
filament which is a familiar occurrence in chronic
gonorrhea ) ; the discharge is like the semen,
in 'sukra-meha^ ( spermatorrhea is indicative of
self-abuse, excessive coitus, sexual neurasthenia
17
258 ANCIENT HIXDU MEDICINE
as cause or consequence, and prodrome of loco-
motor ataxia. Sedentary habits, an habitually
loaded rectum, asearides, and the too free use of
condiments and liquors may be responsible for
the slighter degree of the symptom. In a
continent individual involuntary emissions
during sleep, if occurring at intervals of 2 to 6
weeks, are quite normal. But if it be much more
frequent and if the emissions occur without
erection, unconsciously to the patient, in the
day time or while straining at stool, their
pathological character is marked. Sper-
matozoa are found in the first urine
passed after emission in men. • They occur
also in some cases of injury or disease of the
spinal cord. Occasionally a small amount of
semen is expressed from the vesiculae seminales
by the pressure of hard fecal masses, during
severe expulsive efforts accompanying obstinate
constipation. The persistent presence of sper-
matozoa in the urine is symptomatic of sperma-
torrhea ) ; scanty foamy urine in ^phenameha^
( in renal congestion, the urine is scanty, acid,
of high specific gravity and usually cloudy with
urates ).
The urine is frothy, transparent and bluish
{ indiccmm'la in which indican is found in large
DISEASES 259
quantitj. When albuminous substances under-
go ])acterial p'utrefaction in the intestine, or are
rapi(31y decomposing in any part of the body, as
in the putrid pus of septic peritonitis, or in
empyema, indol is formed. When the indol is
absorbed, it is oxidized, forming indoxyl, and the
latter combines with, the preformed potassium
sulphate to become the conjugate potassium
indoxyl-sulphate, or as it is more commonly
termed 'indican*. If indican which is itself
colorless comes in contact with acids or oxidizing-
agents, it is decomposed with the formation of
indigo blue. An excessive formation of indican
is indicative of abnormal intestinal putrefaction*
As a rule, it is usually associated with hypo-
chloro-hydria, as hydrochloric acid exerts restrain-
ing influence on proteolytic bacteria. An excess
of indican is found in gastric cnncer and perito-
nitis ) 5 the micturition is painful and the urine
has the color of turmeric (curcuma has yellowisli-
brown color ) in ^haridra-meJia* {choluriain which
the urine is yellowish-brown or greenish-yellow
due to the presence of bilirubin in the urine. Ifc
occurs in many diseases in which an excessive
quantity of bile is excreted as bilious remittent
fever and part of it appears unchanged in the
urine ) ; sour odor and sourish taste in ^amla»
260 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
meha' ( oxaluria in which there is a persistent
excretion of oxalates. Normally oxalic acid is
excreted daily from 0. 010 to 0. 020 gram ( one-
sixth to one-third grain ), but exists in combina-
tion as calcium oxalate, and is held in solution
by the acid sodium phosphate of the urine, and
when the latter is deficient, the oxalates ave
precipitated. Oxalic acid is increased by certain
foods, as cabbage, rhubarb, tomato, and to a
lesser extent by asparagus, spinach, carrots,
string beans and celery. Oxalic acid may also
result from oxidation of uric acid or an incom]
plete oxidation of carbohydrates, in which case
the intermediate product is oxaluric acid. A
persistent increase in the excretion of oxalates
is usually associated with the disorders of
the gastro-intestinal tract or neurasthenia ) ;
the urine is like pressed alkaline water from
( laundry ) cloth, in smell, color, taste and touch
in ^hsara-^nelicC ( phosphaturia in which a con-
siderable amount of earthy phosphates mixed
•with fixed alkali is excreted with the urine. It
is found in dyspepsia and neurasthenia. Occa-
sionally the fixed alkali and the earthly phos-
phates deposit their sediments in the bladder, and
the few whitish drops passed at the end of
urination like semen, may be their symptomic
DISEASES 261
expression. The urine is decidedly alkaline.
Normally phosphoric acid is daily excreted from
2 to 3 grams ( 30 to 45 grains ) in combination
as alkaline and earthly phosphates, the alkaline
salts predominating. It is derived from the
food and partly from the decomposition of lecithin
and nuclein. The excretion is greatly increased
in leucemia, pernicious anemia, uervous dyspepsia
and considerably diminished in intermittent
malaria, pulmonary tuberculosis with high
temperature, typhoid, nephritis, chronic rheumat-
ism and yellow atrophy of the liver ) ; the
urine is like the water of Indian madder {manjis-
tlia=7mhia ynunjista, which has bright red color
in ^manjistha-meha' ( hemoglobinuria in which
tlie urine contains the blood- coloring matter
'hemoglobin' and its oxidation product *methemo-
globin*. Hemoglobinuria occurs in cases where-
tbere is such an extensive destruction of the
erythrocytes that it exceeds the power of the
hepatic activity to transform the whole of the
liberated hemoglobin into bilirubin, and the
excess escapes by way of the kidney with the
urine. It is found in pernicious bilious remittent
malarial fever, especially after excessive doses of
quinine, syphilis, yellow fever and severe form of
jaundice) 5 and the urine is like the blood in
262 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
*sonitcMneha' {hematuria in which the red-corpus-
cles of the blood appear in the urine. It occurs
in cases where there is an acute congestion of the
kidney and the number of erythrocytes indicates
the severity of the lesion. Bloody urine may be
voided in leucemia, hemophilia, purpura, and in
renal cancer, tuberculosis, abscess and lithiasis).
The discharge is like clarified butter in
*sarpi-meha' {pyuria in yxXnoXv the pus appears
in the urine. It may be due to different causes,
but often it is associated with the gonorrheal
urethritis. The urine contaiuing tbe pus from
any renal lesion is usually acid and from the
bladder alkaline); the urine is fatty in 'vasa-meha*
{lipuria in which the fat is present in the urine
in such quantities as to enable its identification
by the unaided eye. The fat may appear in the
urine due to the ingestion of excessive amounts
of fat (fat meat, or in cases of fracture involving
the bone marrow and causino^ fat embolism, in
long-continued suppurative processes, in the
lipemia of diabetes mellitus, from the fatty
degeneration of the renal epithelium in chronic
nephritis, of pus cells, in pyonephrosis or
neoplasm along the urinary tract, or in the fatty
degeneration in phosphorus poisoning. If the
urine is so crowded with minute fat globules as
DISEASES 263
to present a milky appearance to tlie naked eye,
it is called 'chyhiria' or 'galactiiria\ Chyluria is
usually due to parasitic origin, especially due to
the presence of 'filaria, sanguinis hominis'}; the
urine is in taste and color like honey-sugar
{hsaiidra = fruit-sugar, that is levulose) in hsaudra-
meha'' {levidosuria in T^'hich levulose appears in the
u:ine. It seems that the pancreas does not re-
gikte the metabolism of levulose, for when there
is intolerance for dextrose as in glycosuria, a
g3od deal of fruit sugar can he assimilated. Pro-
lahly the liver synthetizes the fruit sugar and in
tie severe hepatic lesion or in the presence of
bxias in the blood which causes irritation to the
nuscles, which possess a considerable power to
uiiize sugars, levulose is abnormally excreted
wth the urine, though its permeability through
tb kidney is nearly four times less than that of
mdtose); the urine flows like that of a mad ele-
ph,nt in ^hasti meha' {polyuria or the diahetes
inspidus in which 10 to 20 quarts of pale urine
is eschar ged daily). Susruta 11. 6. lO*^*^.
f^^ «i^<5:?pi}* ^ti^l, ^"^^j fq^^g^' fq^^ft-, ^ift^' 5aT?*
m^^% ^Rig^" ^^ft, '^w ^^^ ^st ^i^f( -^m ii^o
264 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
*'Any one who repeatedly urinates ink-colored
(blackish) warm urine, suffers from ^kala-meha'
(cilkaptoniiria in which the urine darkens on
standing, due to the presence of alkaptoa
(glycosuric acid) or related oxyacids, or melanin
from melanotic cancer; or in hemoglobinuria as
in pernicious remittent bilious fever, duo to tte
destruction of large amounts of erythrocytes,
the blood-pigment may undergo change ai^d
appear in the urine as brownish-black or blackish ^
and for this reason the fever is called ''blacU
water-fever'):' Charaka II. 4. 17.'^'. j
"Prognosis: "If one has acquired diabet©
mellitus {madhu-meha) by hereditary transmit
sion, he is incurable. It is not only hereditar/'
glycosuria that is incurable, but all hereditaA'
^■^ ^' wmf^Tir^^ ^^im: I ^fq':nwrsi ^f^^'^ft ^Rt;Wt-
117. iT€t^ »^5^^' ^t ^'^g'^ ^i^f?f I
DISEASES 265-
predispositions are hard to remedy." CharaJca
YI. 6. 4P^».
*'As birds easily take shelter in low trees, so
glycosuria rapidly attacks those who are addicted
to gluttony, but averse to bathing and walking
(physical exercise and exertion). Glycosuria
proves fatal fot* one who lacks energy, is very
fleshy, fat and extremely corpulent. He who
eats only to cover his metabolic needs, recovers
his health." CharaJca IT. 4. 32. ^^\
"If the diabetes lasts for a long time, then
there are complications of polydipsia, fever,
diarrhoea, hyperaemia, weakness, anorexia, indi-
gestion and putrefying boils, abscesses and
gangrenes." Charaka II. 4. 30'''".
lis. 5fTcT^^ 'I^Mt ^
^ =^f^ ^f%(T li^i^T f^^m
120. ^q^^^T^^irg iRtf%^ (f^T^^TTf^igi^rfft^^Kt^^r^i^:)
263 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
*'If a diabetic has boils tlien an expert surgeon
shall treat him by cleaning and restoring
{cicatrizing) them by his instruments. Chai^aka
VI. 6. 42^ ^\
JProphi/laxis: la diabetes mellitus, it is neces-
sary to know whether the disease is acquired
or inherited. In lesions affecting the pons
medulla, cerebellum, liver, thyroid and especially
the pancreas, diabetes may be provoked. But in
other diseases which do not seriously damage
the pancreas, as in syphilis, acute infection, trau-
matic and surgical neurasthenia, physical and
mental excesses, there usually exists a predis-
po->ing cause. Tlie predisposing cause consists
of metabolic deficiency of assimilating carbohy-
drates. It might lie in some inherent weakness
of the hepatic and principally the pancreatic cells
or that of the organism to burn the carbohy-
drates or that of the nervous mechanism control-
ling the process. Susruta did not fail to distin-
guish them. He says :
121. KOTi^'jit <^i: fq^^T «^"4twt:
DISEASES 267
**Dial)etes is either inherited or acquired
(alimentary). Inherited diabetes is due to
improper dietary. The hereditary diabetic is
very lean, dry (skin), has weak appetite (anorexia)^
polydipsia and is very nervous ; the alimentary
diabetic is fleshy, has voracious appetite {hulimid),
adiposis and is addicted to sedentary habits
(fond of bed, seat and sleep. The lean diabetic
should be treated by dietetic regulation, and the
fat diabetic by ^ a'pata^^'pana^ (exercise and fasting).
Smruta IV. 11. 2'-".
Prophylaxis should begin with children,
especially wlien children of hereditarily predis-
posed parents are found with tendencies to
neurosis, goat or obesity, , and tbey should not
intermarry with families of the same diathesis,
iior over-indulge in sugars or excess of carbohy-
drates. Adults with hereditary tendencies
should avoid taking sugar and should not exceed
in the carbohydrate diet beyond the physiologic
fqqT^37 qf^€^^^Qi^ x^'m I ^^tii ^€t 'f^wt f^'Ei: si^re^^i^i'Jt:
intern I cm s5i^^5^»T;jf?ig'^mfvr: f5Pi[fwf^f%?i^c[, ^j^ciq ^-
268 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
and metabolic needs. Rather it would be wise
to partly replace the carbohydrates with fat and
protein. Tendency to obesity should be com-
batted by regular exercise and frugal diet. When
obesity has developed, it should be reduced by
a slow process of moderate daily outdoor exercise
and a slight undernutrition, especially in car-
bohydrates and fat.
Treatment : Glycosuria can be successfully
fought only by rational dietary. It is a safe policy
in the beo-inning: of the treatment to eliminate
all carbohydrates from the diet. It may be said
against this, that the excretion of sugar in the
urine is but a symptom of the lesion, and the
elimination of the sugar can not remedy tli&
cause of the lesion, and moreover even in a sugar-
free diet, sugar is synthetically prepared and
excreted out of the protein and fat molecules.
This may be all true, but the clinical experience
shows that in a sugar-free diet, the patient soon
develops carbohydrate tolerance. And the
presence of an excessive quantity of sugar in the
circulation and tissues which can not be meta-
bolized, causes various pathological changes and
manifestations. Von Noorden finds the use of
oatmeal gruel once a week proves very benefi-
cial. But on the oatmeal day he forbids the
DISEASES 269
^se of any protein, even not egg or milk. Only
a little butter is permitted. And the day be-
fore the oatmeal diet, be gives only vegetables
and fat. Levin e finds that potato is just as
efiicacious as the oatmeal. Fruits containing
minimum of glucose like the lemon and orange
can be given, as there is certain tolerance
for levulose. The alternating constipation and
diarrhoea which is symptomatic of diabetes due
to gastro-intestinal disorders, should be remedied
by laxative and constipative food according to
the needs. Strong purgatives should be avoided.
If this is not sufficient, in constipation Carlsbad
or Epsom salts can be given and in diarrhoea
irrigation should be applied. Special attention
should be given to the cleanliness of the skin,
as many skin lesions are apt to take place in.
glycosuria. Mild antiseptic neutral soaps, con-
taining tar, boric acid or eucalyptus have proved
beneficial. When an infective process has
already begun, great care should be taken that
the surrounding tissues or other parts do not
1 become infected and for local use, iodoform,
iodol or aristol can be used with advantage.
Diabetes insipidus : The pathology of this
tlisease is not yet well understood. It occurs
in cases where tliere is lesion in the pons.
270 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
medulla or tlie cerebellum. It may be caused
by many diseases, but syphilis is the principal
cause. And in that case its principal remedy
is antisyphilic treatment.
IV. — Diseases of the Bladder.
'There are twelve kinds of lesions of the
bladder as follows : — annular swelling {vata-
kundalikd=peric2/stis ), hard globular tumor
{mutrasthUd=»mt/oma)i swelling oi: the mouth of
the bladder (vdtavasti=p7'0static hypertrophy)^
difficult and scanty repeated urination {mTttrat'ita
= vesical tenesmus ), abdominal bladder ( mTdra^
j at har a = oveY'distensioii and hypertrophy of
the bladder with contraction aiid obstruction of
the cavity), obstruction to the passage of urine
{mutrotsanga = urethritis), uremia (mutra^l-saya),
fibroma {mutra-granthi), spermatorrhea iTrmtra-
mkra)^ cystitis (usna-vdta) and gangrenous or
suppurative cystitis {mutraiikasdda).
"If the urine is concentrated and is not eva-
cuated (in time), the humor 'e;«y«^' becomes vitia-
ted and it circulates at the mouth in circular
form (that is causes annular infiammation).
This causes much pain and there is repeated
painful scanty micturition. This difficult disease
DISEASES 27 1
is known as *vata-hundaliJca {pericystitis, which
implies iuflammation ot* tlie tunica advenitia of
:}lie bladder. Inflammation of tlie bladder {cystitis)
may be provoked by various causes as follows :
(«) Cystitis may occur during tlie course of
many acute infectious diseases as acute arti-
cular rheimiatism, typhoid fever, small-pox,
measles, influenza, cholera, diphtheria. This
complication may set in during the height of the
disease, or may appear during convalescence.
Toward its cause, a number of factors probably
contribute. The chemical constituents of the
urine are often profoundly altered : the urine
is concentrated ; it contains abnormal substances of
disturbed metabolism which are more or less irritant
and moreover may contain the pathogenic germs
of specific infections. The tissues of the bladder
are deprived of proper nutrition and lack their
full power of resistance, (b) In constitutional
■ diseases as gout and diabetes in which the urine
is irritant, (c) In general septicemia as pyemia
or internal suppuration of any organ in which
the suppuration foci may be brought to the
bladder, (d) Prom irritating food and drink as
excessive consumption of strong and irritant
pepper and alcoholic drinks, (e) Infections
from the adjacent organs as the kidney and the
272 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
urethra. Tlie bladder may be affected by the
kidney either directly by the urine, or by the
lymph channel or by contiguity of the tissues.
Urethritis is a common cause of which gonorrhea
is an important factor. In acute gonorrhea
the passage of gonococci is favored through
spincter vesicae in its ascent during vesical
congestion under sexual excitement or under
the stimulation of alcohol or irritating spicy
food. Chronic prostatic hypertrophy is also
often a causative factor of the congestion of
the base of the bladder. The cystites are of
two kinds — simple aseptic and septic. The
simple aseptic inflammation may be provoked
by the irritating substances in the urine,
metabolic or ingested, by the disturbances in the
function of micturition or by the disturbances
in the circulation incident to vascular or nervous
conditions. It is well known tliat ammonia,
oxalates, urates and sugar, if they are concen-
trated in the urine are active irritants of the
bladder. And tlie primary role of the irritants
can be ascribed to the uric acid sands and calculi.
They by their mechanical irritation cause con-
gestion and inflammation and if the patho-
genic germs are present, ulcerous gangrenes.
Disturbances in the functions of the urine
DISEASES 27$:^
cause more or less hyperemia and inflammation..
Over-distension of the bladder either voluntary
or pathological, the too frequent and too forceful
contractions in the act of urination bring about
this condition. When the causes of the over-
distension, retention and obstruction are organic^
septic infection takes place. Various micro-
organisms have been found to be related with the
suppurative process as the staphylococcus
pyogenes aureus, albus and citreus which can
decompose urea, streptococcus pyogenes, bacteri-
um coli, proteus vulgaris (which possesses the
power of decomposing urea with the production
of ammoniacal reaction), gouococcus and tubercle
bacillus.
*'Unusual frequency of micturition is present
in all cases, except in the beginning and in mild
cases when the urine remains acid. The causes of
frequency are threefold. The reflex influences of
an inflammation of the vesical mucous membrane
are alone able to provoke frequent urination. In
an analogous manner, the irritation of ammonia-
cal urine and of precipitated salts effects contrac-
tion of the organ. In cases of obstruction, the
partial retention of the irritant urine powerfully
excites the detrusors. Thus the condition of the
frequent micturition is usually worse in the
18
274 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
contracted bladder of prostatic obstruction. In
calculous cystitis, violent movement usually
aggravates the condition. Tenesmus is frequent-
ly present. In some cases it becomes so ex-
aggerated and remains almost constant, that the
patient in order to get relief from the exasperat-
ing pain, constantly attempts to urinate, to force
a few drops, though the bladder may be almost
empty).
'*'Vdyu' causes in the intermediate region of
the lower intestine and the bladder, a hard,
immovable and tough tumor. This causes the
obstruction of the passage of the feces, urine and
intestinal gas. This provokes tympanitis and
pain. This (disease) is known as *vatastMla*
{myoma is usually a hard interstitial tumor,
producing a globular induration of the bladder
wall. It is generally located at the orifice of
the bladder, and it has been noted from the size
of a cherry up to such dimension as fill half
of the cavity. The tumor is divided into
lobules bv connective tissue ; its main bulk
is composed of unstriped muscle-cells, in some
places arranged in fasciculi, in others irregularly
grouped).
"In any one who retains urine, the 'vayu* of the
bladder becomes vitiated and closes the mouth of
DISEASES 275
the bladder, and consequently the urine is
obstructed. And this vitiated *vayiC remains
in the bladder and the prostrate {kuksi= groin)
as an oppressor (in intumescence). This disease
is very hard to cure and it is called ^mta-vasti*
(pbstrttotive hypertrophy of the prostate which
may range in size from an orange to that of a
cocoanut. The hypertrophy may be general,
affecting the whole organ symmetrically or the
enlargement is confined within the capsule of
the gland and may extend a considerable distance,
pushing the capsule and remain only connected
with the prostate by a glandular and fibrous
tissue. As the internal spincter may be considered
as an integral part of the prostate, hence any
alteration of the structure of the latter would
be followed by the interference of the function
of the former. In addition, as the prostate is
limited in front and below by dense fascia, it
tends to grow upward and backward as it hyper-
trophies, elongating and narrowing or deflecting
the urethra, according to whether the enlarge-
ment is symmetrical or irregular, but always
raising the vesical outlet to a higher level than
normal. The urine therefore left after each
micturition (residual urine) settles at the bottom,
causing the formation of calculi by precipitation
270 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
and sedimentation of the mineral constituents.
And an early effect of the prostatic hypertrophy is
congestion and later inflammation of that portion
of the mucous memhrane of the bladder in
contact with the tumor. The inflammation
spreads in time, aggravated by the sluggish
venous return. And as the passage of the urine
is reduced, the bladder can only be incompletely
evacuated and a small quantity at a time by
slow dribbling from the distended bladder. And
in this condition, the mucous membrane offers
but slight resistance to microbic invasion).
"If for a long time the urine is retained, then
when an attempt is made for its evacuation, there
is no micturition, or it appears but slightly. If
strained, the urine appears with slight pain and
in small quantities. This disease is caused by
the suppression of the urine, and is called 'mutrct'
Ufa* {vesical tenesmus).
**If the urine is suppressed, it causes distension ;
distension vitiates ^vai/u* and provokes painful
tympanites. This is called 'mutra-jathara* and
this disease contracts the do-wnward channel
{hypertrophy of the bladder with contraction of
the cavity and obstruction of the passage).
"In the disease in which the flow of the urine
::s interfered with either at the neck of the urethra
DISEASES 277
or near the glans penis, or under tenesmus bloody
urine appears with pain, or without pain it
dribbles little by little, this is known as ^mutrot-
sang a' {urethritis). This disease is caused by a
qualified (special) 'vayu\
'*In an emaciated and tired body, 'pitta' and
^myit absorb the urine. It causes hyperemia and
pain. This disease is called 'mutraksaya^ (uremia)
This is very troublesome. (Uremia occurs in
the course of acute or chronic nephritis,
puerperal eclampsia, some cases of obstructed
renal calculus, and occasionally in patients
with pronounced vascular changes. The symp-
toms are general malaise, nausea, vomiting,
insomnia, amaurosis, mania, delirium, dyspnea,
increased arterial tension. In complete uremia,
the patient lives about 10 to 12 days).
"The tiny, globular and firm tumor that is
formed at the interior part of the neck of the
bladder, is called 'mutra—granthi (^fibroma gene-
rally occurs ia the adult and is usually located
single upon the base and trigonum. The size is
like that of a nut. It may be sessile or predi-
culated, hard or soft. The surface is lobulated
and covered with normal or inflamed mucous
membrane, which may or not be firmly attached
to the growth. On section tlie tumor is white
278 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
and glistening, and there may be patches of
myxomatous or areas of calcification). This
tumor is painful, nonulcerative and narrows the
mouth of the bladder. It resembles pain like-
that of calculus.
**If any one indulges in sexual intercourse
with full bladder, then the semen is displaced
and becomes mixed with urine, and pale watery
semen appears just before urination or after it.
It is called ^mutra-sukra^ {prostatorrhea).
^** Pitta' becomes vitiated in heavy exercise,
long journey or exposure to the sun, and mixed
with the *vayu'' brings about the inflammation
of the bladder, urethra and the pelivic region:
(sympathetic) and causes discharge. In this
yellowish, slightly reddish (pinkish) or pure
reddish urine is excreted with tenesmus. This
disease is called by the specialists as ^ttsiia-vata*
(in non-suppurative cystitis^ the urine is pale
yellow, or according to the extent of bleeding,
the color will vary from the faintest pink to a
deep dark-red).
"The disease in which the urine is excreted
with burning sensation, is turbid, dark-brownish
and concentrated, and if dried (by the sun or
evaporated), leaves a residue like powdered'
granite, is called the bilious 'mutrankasadd'
DISEASES 279
{suppurative cystitis^ in wliich the urine is turbid,
containing tenacious flocculi of altered pus and
there is a large amount of precipitated salts and
detritus. On standing, a heavy sediment forms,
but the supernatant urine does not become
clear. The crystalline sediment consists of a
moderate amount of amorphous phosphates,
amorphous ammonium urates and large
quantities of triple phosphates. The crystals of
ammoniun urate are dark balls which may be
spiculated ; the triple phosphate commonly
appears in the form of slab-shaped crystals ;
there may however, be needles, squares and
many forms of irregular crystallization). The
disease in which the urine is whitish, concentrat-
ed and appears with tenesmus, and when dried,
it is pale>colored like the conch-shell powder and
is slimy, is to be known as phlegmatic 'mutrati'
Jcasada" ( cystitis and tumor of the bladder in
which the urino is pale- whitish, opalescent, with
a heavy deposit of pus, phosphates and detritus.
It is alkaline in reaction. The benign tumors
are in themselves quite compatible with long
life: in several carefully observed subjects, they
existed, ten, twenty or more years. The course
of papilloma is largely determined by the hemor-
rhage and the complications. The malignant
280 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
tumors are usually fatal within one or two years,
particularly of the base or the neck. The fatality
of the disease of course depends upon the site
affected, the variety of growth present, the
clinical course, and complications of cystitis and
nephritis. The causes of death are indirect.
Barely profuse hemorrhrge has been the direct
cause. In the cachectic debility which follows
prolonged hemorrhage, the system becomes
vulnerble, and any intercurrent disease may
prove fatal). ''Charaha VI. 58, 2-13 1'\
^^€T^1 1^ '^[fq -^m WT^ =(iir<i<ii: H «
^i «T^ "^fh f^'pi: fw^ficr: ii
DISEASES 281
**In these thirteen kinds of urinary troubles
use remedial medicines which will relieve
strangury. In all these lesions bougie and
irrigations are applicable.
The cylinder of the bougie is to be made of
^«rs?iT ^f%g# F^s^: t%T '?:^ =^ i
€ ^^r^^fe^w^ t^^r^fir: 11 i«
c[^ ^^ tfi: ^'?^ ^'i?^^ II
282 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
gold or silver. The aperture of the cylinder
made of gold should be like that of the jasmine
flower stem, and that of the silver like a mustard
seed. It should have the shape like a cow's tail
(slightly curved and graduated in dimension)^
with two rings (so that it can not be pushed
farther than is necessary, or it might wound the
bladder) and twelve digits long." Charaka VIII.
9. 28-29 1*^*.
^^?T ^fT^^ 51^^^^ ^f^ <W, It 11
V^ ^t^ ^' ^^rf ^^ «T^ I
"^ VRf?T ?^m THtT^ 'U^f^WT I
^^^Ntht? ft r<i<ji5tlji ftTigffi i^: II
T|P^* »Tgf?r J^^rft ahsR ^'iHTT'!? TM^ I
ftrf%^' ^'f ^ ^tt o^t r^' Tirat I
124. ^"NrfV^i^t^^fTR ^^fr^^^^ I
DIS RASES 283
The underlying principles in the treatment
of acute or chronic cystitis are (a) to render
the urine bland and slightly antiseptic ; (b) to
put the bladder at rest and to relieve pain 5 (c)
to lessen pelvic congestion. With healthy kidney
and in non-suppurating cystitis of the bladder,
the urine may be made bland by drinking a>
good deal of whey or butter-milk or plenty of
pure water. Hot baths, particularly hot sitz-
baths are revulsive and counter-irritant. They
relieve pain and congestion. To relieve conges-
tion leeches may also be applied to the perito-
neum and above the pubis. To make the urine
slightly antiseptic, salol can be administered
three times a day, in small doses of five
grains.
But in chronic cystitis, irrigation is the
best curative means known. Irrigation removes
mechanically decomposing discharges, diminishes^
the quantity of pus and mucus, renders the
urine bland and unirritating, lessens the severity
of the inflammation, lessens further fermentation
and decomposition, and exerts a stimulating
and healing influence upon the diseased
membrane. The main symptoms of cystitis,
frequency, urgency, tenesmus and strangury
are chiefly dependent upon inflammation located
'284 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
about the vesical neck. Thous:li irrigation
can not disinfect the entire diseased and
suppurating tissues, this part can be easily
reached, and the healing influence of a disin-
fectant and soothing lotion can be easily exerted
on it. This can bo accomplislied by irrigations,
instillations or drainage, or all these combined.
For irrigation, a weak, non-irritating, antiseptic
solution is preferable as silver nitrate 1: 5000 to
500, potassium permanganate 1 ; 5000 to 2000,
carbolic acid 1 : 500^ boric acid 1 : 50, normal
saline solution 0. 7 per cent. Irrigation is
only recommended when the patient urinates
easily and empties his bladder completely. But
bladder should not be distended to the point of
causing pain and spasm. Usually one daily
irrigation is sufficient, but in severe cases, it can
be repeated. When urination is extremely
painful, irrigation can be done by a soft catheter.
The catheter is attached to a fountain syringe.
The lotion is allov/ed to flow through and while
it is flowing, the catheter is slowly passed into
the bladder. Three to five ounces are injected
and the tube leading to the fountain syringe is
discontinued, and the injection is allowed to
flow out.
Instillations are applied by means of an
DISEASES 285
instiliator, which is a silver or hard rubber
cylindrical catheter about 13 Er. caliber,
provided with a fine canal. To the end of the
shaft of the catheter is fitted a hypodermic
syringe with a capacity for forty minims and is
filled with a choice lotion, silver nitrate 1 to
5 per cent in gonorrheal cystitis, iodoform
emulsion in tubercular cases with ten per cent
glycerine. The catheter is lubricated with
glycerin or boroglyceride, and is introduced into
the urethra until its tip is within the grasp of
the compressor urethrae muscle. The piston of
the syringe is then driven down, causing the
injection to flow along the membraneous and
prostatic urethra into the bladder.
The simplest and the safest form of drainage
is that by continuous catheterization. A soft
catheter of medium caliber should be selected.
Important points to observe are that the eye of
the catheter lies just within the bladder and
that the instrument thoroughly and continually
drains this viscus. To determine the eye of the
catheter in relation to the neck of the bladder,
the instrument is introduced and the bladder is
emptied. Four to six ounces of boric acid
solution are then injected, and the catheter is
withdrawn until the fluid ceases to flow. It
286 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
is then passed in until the fluid hegins to flow,
and is held in this position until the bladder is
empty. This continuous catheterization may
be kept up from one to three weeks. It usu-
ally causes a mild traumatic urethritis. This
is treated by withdrawing the catheter slightly at
each irrigation until its end lies without the
compressor urathrse muscle. By forcing an anti-
septic solution into the catheter, it will then
flash out the entire anterior urethra. In case
of intense pain, suprapubic drainage can be
also performed with advantage.
The method adopted by the Charaka School
is as follows : —
**The patient after his bath, shall take meat
-broth or milk. And he shall be seated on a
soft, easy and comfortable cushion, after he has
evacuated his bladder when there is natural call.
Then his penis should be massaged with oint-
ment. After that a sound ( salaka ) should
be introduced for the urethral exploration. If
the sound passes without any obstruction, then
it should be withdrawn, and the eye of the
bougie introduced. All the regulations recom-
mended for anal irrigation {enema) are to be
observed. If the lotion is allowed to flow at
great speed, it causes inflammation of the base.
DISEASES 287
and if it be not sufficient, it does not spread
all over the surface, so with a steady hand (not
trembling ), the bougie is to be introduced
and withdrawn," Charaka VII. 9.3^ = *.
Trodrome of lithiasis : "Bladder-irritability,
anorexia, strangury, lacerating pain at the neck
of the bladder, scrotum and the urethra, fever,
lassitude, and the goat-smell of the urine are
the prodromes of lithiasis. Moreover, before the
calculus formation, the color of the urine be-
comes unnatural and micturition is painful.
The urine is concentrated and cloudy ( with
urates ). The urine becomes corrupt with 'vai/u'
( ammoniacal decomposition ).
Symptoms : — With the calculi formation,
there are pains in the umbiculus,bladder,scrotum,
J 25. ^m^ »j?s*ra^ \%^ q:5rerTfq ^ \
^^^^^f\^i\*ii 'fit 5!ig^ ^ u
ar^fnr^r^^ ifH 5EraRftf?cfT ^tf^ II
cm: ^tRiflTT^sf 3«ti^^ utaitH I
■ g^Jtnr (wm'^ iT^t^ %'<i^^ 11
288; ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
urethra aud their adjacent regions at the time
of micturition, sudden interference with the
flow of the urinal stream (by the spasmodic
closinor of the veluntarv muscles when a small
stone is forced into the vesical oritice), bloody
urine (the blood is invariably present in the
vesical calculus, though the hemorrhage from
the bladder is never profuse ; the quantity of
blood and the degree of pain depends on the
nature of ulcerated surface and the contour
of the stone ), splashing urine, the color of the
urine like that of a gem (reddish), clear urine
containing sand ( uric acid crystals) and pain is
much increased by running, jumping, riding
and long journeys (violent movements are apt
to cause friction of the stone with the vesical
surface )," Susnita II. 3. 4-6^-*
^^f^T^[^ T^^M^iT^^ JTlt^opraTSmsiTf^a' HftRTcT f^5ll% ><l«41t!(f »!-
DISEASES 289
**As gallstone is formed in a cow by desicca-
tion of the bile, so calculus is formed. Calculi
are formed in various shapes like that of the
flower of 'nuclea cadamba* ( the oxalate-of-lime
calculus is the hardest, often orange-dark in
color, more or less spherical in form and studded
with nodules, whence it derives its name as
mulberry calculus ); like stone ( finely laminated
stones are often found among th^ vesical
calculi, with alternate layers of distinctly crystal-
line oxalates and urates ; the urates are yellow-
reddish in color ) ; smooth ( pure uric-acid stones
are the softest, are yellow, red or brown in
color and generally present a smooth surface);
like pea (custin) or soft (amorphous phosphates).
If the calculus is pushed against the vesical
orifice, then the passage of urine is obstructed,
and it provokes great pain ( the stone is grasped
and forced against the sensitive neck either by
the flow of urine or in violent motion as jolt-
ing over a rough road or riding ). This exas-
perates the patient and he makes repeated
attempts to urination. There is defecation with
tremor. There is lancinating pain in the scro-
tum, urethra and the bladder, and if the urethra
is wounded, the urine comes mixed with blood.
But when the calculus is dislodged from the
19
290 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
vesical neck, the urine again flows with ease.
If the calculus is split into fragments, it passes
through the urethra and is called *sarkara*
(gravel)." Charaka VI. 26. 2 1 ^ ' ^
^* Gravel (sarkard), sand (sikata — uric acid brick
dust, a fine yellow reddish sediment ) and amor-
phous phosphates {bhasmakhya-meha) are varieties
of lithiasis. The symptoms and pain of gravel
resemble that of calculus. If the calculi (con-
cretions) are tiny, they are excreted with the
urine, with favorable 'vayu\ If the calculus
is split up into minute fragments by *vayu\ it is
called the gravel. The gravel causes heartache,
fatigue of the thighs, pain in the perineum,
tremor, polydipsia, nausea, cyanosis, anemia,
weakness, anorexia and indigestion, if the gravel
be obstructed in the passage through the
urethra.
127. ^^\ cT;?P5r^cT5TT??^ g ^^if fq^f^^ ^=^T ^Tt: II
j^^ '^in%f f?i 51^ ^' ^5ft ere? ^itt^ ^ »
DISEASES 29 1
**The Madder is situated in the midst of umbi-
licus, back-boue, pubic bones, scrotum, rectum,
groin and the urethra. The bladder has only one
orifice or outlet (urethra) and its base is down-
ward, its skin (muscular coating) is thin. The
bladder is like bottle-gourd (alabu-lagenarm
vulgaris ser) in shape and is covered with nerves,
arteries and veins. The bladder is situated in
the pelvis, between the pubic bones in front and
the rectum (in woman, the uterus) behind.
During the fetal and infantile life, it is usually
situated above the pubes. It is a flattened, mora
or less horizontal body, when empty, but when
distended, it becomes an oval bag and rises so as-
to occupy more or less the hypogastrium. It is
attached below, but free to expand above. It is
essentially a muscular organ, lined with mucous
membrane and covered except in its lower
portion with a loosely attached peritoneal coat.
Into its lower and posterior portion, the ureters
empty, and from its neck the urethra arises.
When not over-distended, it holds about a pint
of urine — somewhat more in woman than in man.
It is a hollow organ, serving as a receptacle for
the urine and has a strong muscular investment
of unstriped muscles in several layers, which are
innervated by branches from the sacral nerves).
292 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
The bladder, the bladder-neck, (perhaps including
the prostates) urethra, testicles and rectum are
all united in one system (genito-urinary )
and is situated within the pelvis. The other
name of the bladder is the ^receptacle for the
excretory product* (malddhara)^ and it is a vital
organ. As rivers discharge their waters into
the ocean, so the tubules in the digestive canal
{the kidneys are bean-shaped organs, about, 4J
inches in length and 2 inches in width and li
inches in thickness, lying on either side of the
spinal column, behind the peritoneum, about
opposite the twelfth thoracic and first three
lumbar vertebrae. At the inner edge of each
kidney is a concave depression, the *hylus\ where
the vessels and the nerves enter and leave the
organs and where the ureter emerges. The
kidney is enclosed in a fibrous envelope, the
^capsule', which dips into the sinus at the hylus.
The substance of the organ is divided into cortex
and medulla. The former is darker colored and
more granular in appearance than the latter ;
it contains the Malphigian corpuscles and most
of the convoluted tubules. The medulla is lighter
in color and striated and contains the majority
of the straight tubules ; it is formed of the
pyramids whose bases rest in the cortex and
DISEASES . 29
whose aspices are the renal papillae at which
point the central collecting tubule opens into a
calyx, this in turn emptying into the pelvis of
the kidney from which the water with the waste
products of metabolism dissolved into it passes
into the ureter and thence into the urinary
bladder, discharges the urine into the bladder.
These tubules are thousands in number and be-
cause of their minuteness, they are invisible.
Awake or asleep they trickle down by osmosis
{nisyanda) and fill up the bladder, as a new
earthen pot (porous) is filled up by the surroun-
ding water, if pressed down into it up to its
neck." Susruta II. 3. 13-14 ^=^«.
"Calculus is hard to cure and is dangerous.
128. ^X[ ftRRTT ^¥t ><t«l^i»i.*<RlfKW, I
'*i<l-^'*iP<Mi*1' g si^'O'^ vRf^ =^ I
294j ancient HINDU MEDICINE
When it is young (tender), it may be controllable
by medicines, but when it is mature (hard), it
lias to be extracted by operation.
"In the preliminary stage of lithiasis
oleaginous potions are beneficial and remove the
cause of its formation, A decoction of Plectran-
thus scutellaroides, Aeschynomene grandiflora,
Pothus officinalis, Oxalis, Asparagus racemosus,
Placourtia cataphracta, Solanum jacquini,
Placourtia sapida, Columba domestica, Solanum
melon gena, Barleria caerulia, Pentaptera arjuna,
^fe^fefs?^''^ ^m 'iWt 5^ II
tr^t 'WT fWT ft% ^fefl^'i ^^ II 18
DISEASES 295
Andropon muricatus, Trapa bisponosa, Hedysa-
Tum gangeticum, Bballuca, Capparis trifoliata,
Tectonae grandis fructus, Hordeum hexastichon,
Dolichos biflorus, Zizyphus jujuba and Strychni
potatorum fructus,seasoned witb clarified butter,
and sprinkled with alkabne earth, if drunk in.
proper doses, causes fracture of the calcuH,
And in addition, in this treatment alkalies, barley-
water, soup, astringents and milk should be
drunk for the amelioration of *vata\ Suiruta
IV. 7. 3'^^
129. ^»i^ ^T^'Tl senfyifi^ufd+it tct: i
^«w^?re^: m^: u^^'^^^fh ii '^
ere? ^^ ^g ^^r^m'R ^^ I
?^T^ *T^^^rg ^^^: sii^iit" ^^ II
m\: w^m\': ^^fsf «*ti«*i^ tfiwrfsr '^ i
^R^rf^^N^i^f iTO?'^ skth; ii
fwKf% ^Tcw^ <ii*ia*i<T f^H^ g i
296 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Spontaneous fracture of stone has been
observed by many in the bladder {Ord, Debouf
d' ^strees, Femcick^ Martin^ etc),either by radical
cleavage from the centre to the periphery or by
splitting in concentric laminae. It has been
demonstrated that spheres of carbonate of lime,
which had formed in solutions of gum, split
radially and disintegrate, if placed in a solution
of different specific gravity. It is possible that in
a similar way, the urinary calculi split and
disintegrate under the influemce of varying
specific gravities and reactions of the urine,
"which causes molecular tension and cleavage,
and consequently spontaneous cure takes place
at some famous springs (as Carlsbad or Contrexe-
ville) which enjoy special reputation for this
curative property. Uric acid or oxalate of lime
calculi can be formed only in strongly acid urine
while in the alkaline urine phosphates of
ammonia and magnesia are precipitated. There-
fore if in the uric acid or oxalate of lime
calculus, the urine can be made and kept alka-
line for some time, it is likely to create molecular
instability of the calculi and split them into frag-
ments, gravel or brick dust. And vice versa
in phoshate calculi. Carbonate of potash, ace-
tate of potash, piperine, common and lithia
DISEASES 297
salts are also reputed to exercise a solvent ac-
tion upon uric acid crystals in the urine.
"If emulsion, alkalies ( carbonate of potash )^
astringent infusion, milk and bougie do not
relieve the calculi, then operation is the only
remedy. Susruta IV. 7. ll'•"^
'Tlace the patient upon the lap af a strong
man (to hold in position) seated on a knee-high
table. The patient with courage and deter-
mination stretches his upper part on his back
and his pelvis raised by a cushion underneath
it ; the legs are to be flexed (to about a right
angle with the table ) and supported by a
man (on each side), or held in position by a
cloth crutch. Then the umbilical region should
be massaged and pressed with unguents by
hands as iong as the calculus does not come
below the umbilicus. Next after manicuring,
and lubricating the fingers with oil, the fore
and the middle-fingers of the left hand should
be introduced in the rectum towards the raphe
scroti. When the calculus has been found, it
should be carefully forced down between the
130. ^'. ^\ ^^^ 'fir. ^Irfjc^ftrrfii: i
298 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
middle of pubis and the urethra, and placed
in an even, medium^ized and polished staff,
and pressed so hard that the calculus appears
like a tumor.* ••Incision should be made about
third of an inch to the left of the raphe scroti
( and an inch and half from the anus ) of the
«ize of the calculus. According to some (autho-
rities ), if it facilitates the operation, incision
can also be made at the right side. But care
should be taken that the calculus be not broken
( into fragments ) by the instruments or pulve-
rized, for if even a minute fragment remains
{ in the bladder ), the calculus grows ( round
it as nucleus ). Therefore for extracting cal-
culi, use forceps with curved blades ( serrated
and concave in the inner side ).
"In woman, the uterus is situated by the
bladder, therefore do not make long incision,
nor deep incision, as it might wound the
sphincters ( mutra-sram ). If the incision is
made at the proper place ( by distending the
bladder upward and forcing the calculus down-
ward ), it might also result in the incontinence
of urine in man by severing the sphincters ( by
the lateral perineal incision ). Without litho-
tomy, there cannot be any break in the blad-
der, but if it does (in rupture by over-disten-
DISEASES 299
«ion ), the patient dies. If however in the
extraction of the calculus, the bladder is
penetrated, the patient might survive, for the
medicines that are used for the healing of
the incision wound, can be also applied for
the cicatrization of the other wound. And
the penetration of the bladder ( sphincters ? )
is not in violation of the ( medical ) code.
Moreover, the urine causes the formation of the
c/ilculus, and the little incontinence of the urine
can not do much harm, and though the barley- ,
water is diuretic, it is found beneficial (in lithi-
asis). After the extraction of the calculus,
the patient should be given hot sitz bath ( hip
bath ), for in hot water, the bladder can not be
filled witli blood. But if it takes place, the
bladder shall be irrigated with astringent effusion
of Ficus g\oma,vdit?e ** Susruta IV. 7. 13-15^^*.
'Trostatolith or phosphatic crystals ( prosta-
ilf|^$^<^^'^^;^^'ic^<alj^^i^^^^. vmf^ \ m: ^m^i^ ^;,H^?rwfW(tfi^-
w^ qi^ i?i^!n?T?TTg §«<*?1*<i^i?i TOcR^n'^rt m^?T'!T^:'THk f'r^T^^-
300 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
tic calculi are of two kinds — those formed in the
kidney or bladder and lodging in the prostatic
sinus, and those which originate in the gland
itself ), if they are dislodged from their own
cavities and are locked up in the passage through
the urethra, they should be extracted (by forceps)
through the urethral passage. If it can not be
done then an incision should be made in the
urethra ( median perineal urethrotomy ) and the
calculus extracted by hook-forcep. And though
the wound is cicatrized for a year, sexual
intercourse, riding horses and elephants, tree-
DISEASES 301
climbing, mountaineering, charioteering and
swimming should not be indulged in ; heavy
indigestible food should also be avoided.
Make incision so that the prostate, vesicula
seminalis, vas deferens, ureter, raphe scroti,
vagina, rectum or the bladder are not hurt. If
the prostates are severed, death takes place by
the accumulation of urine in the bladder (the
passage for the discharge of the urine into the ure-
thra being blocked by the tumorous or hypertro-
phic growth of the prostate ); by the severance
of the vesicula seminalis, death or eunuchism
takes place ; by the severance of vas deferens,
impotence ; by the severance of the ureter,
dispersion of the urine ( to the contiguous tissues
by percolation ) ; wound in the raphe scroti
causes intense pain ; and if the bladder and the
rectum are wounded, all the symptoms due to
their penetration, mentioned before, appear.
SmrutalY,1. 19-20^ 3\
Modern lithotomi hardly differ^ much from
that of the Sus'ruta school, especially when lateral
i
132- ^^^^^pi^^w^^^^f%^t^^^fH^i#^ tTfTiT?T_i erg
302 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
incision is made, except that before operation,
the bladder is drained off and distended by hot
boracic lotion, and kept ia that condition during
operation by plugging the spigot of the silver
catheter by which the injection has been intro-
duced. But generally now-a-days supra-pubia
operation is preferred, but below the peritoneum,
as higher up serous membrane is met. After
the bleeding has stopped, the wound is closed
by sutures.
However, litholapaxy seems to be the favorite
means adopted for the removal of vesical calcu-
lus. And when the urethra is not roomy enough
to admit an instrument of adequate calibre, or the
stone is very large or hard (oxalate of lime
calculus), and if under these circumstances, litho-
lapaxy can not be practised, lithotomy is adopted
for the removal of the stone. Lithotrity consists
of crushing the stone within the notched and
fenestrated inside surface of very hard steel
DISEASES 303
blades undev a severe and continuous pressure
into a very fine powder, and the removal of the
detritus by flushing out through a full-sized
hollow metal catheter and an India-rubber wash
bottle.
V, Diseases of the mouth.
"There are sixty-five diseases of the mouth.
The centers of their origin are seven, namely,
lips, gum, tooth, tongue, palate, throat and the
buccal cavity. Of these the lips have eight kinds
of diseases, gum fifteen, teeth eight, tongue five,
palate nine, throat seventeen, and the buccal,
cavity three". Susruta II. 16. 2-3^ ^^
"In the ''DcM affections, the lips are aspe-
rous ( herpes upon the lips are common in mala-
ria, fevers, pneumonia, acute coryza as well as
other febrile diseases ; cracks or fissures
— rhagades — or the scars resulting from them, if
occurring in infants or children, are indicative
133. Tc\ ciftTT: ^^^\ ^H^ii<d%^ I cT^T?itT^=?fB^ ^T ^rrf^ ^^ \
304) ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
of congenital syphilis ; the vertical crack in the
middle of the lower lip, as occasionally seen,
may be due to defective nutrition or may be
associated with stomatitis ), dry ( associated with
herpes or gastro-intestinal disorders, numb
( labial paralysis or bulbar palsy ), blackish
( cyanosis associated with open and dry lips is
indicative of dyspnea, due to disease of the heart
or lungs, especially the chronic forms as
emphysema or failing compensation in valvular
lesions ; otherwise it may be associated with
the associated local diseases of the mouth as
stomatitis, glossitis, cacrum oris, phlegmonous
tonsilitis, or some form of nasal stenosis), pressed
and heated ( loose and pendulous lips are
suggestive of diphtheritig paralysis, chronic
bulbar palsy ; and associated with open lips it
is observed in various conditions of prostration,
in idiocy and in cases of insanity ).
**In the 'pitta' affections of the lips, the lips
are bluish ( cyanosed ), bronzed ( in Addison's
disease ), and are covered with many vesicles
like mustard seeds which give burning sensation,
rupture and exudate ( in aphthous or follicular
stomatitis, small vesicles appear on the inner
surface of the lips, or cheeks or edges of the
tongue and soon rupture, leaving small and
DISSASES 305
Tery sensitive superficial grayish ulcers with
red areolae ).
"In the ^kapha' affections of the lips, the lips
are covered with mucous patches like the color
of the skin, and they are painless, pruritic,
edematous, slippery, tepid and heavy ( flattened,
warty outgrowths, strictly delimited, coated with
a gray matter, and found at the angles of the
mouth, are the mucous patches of the secondary
atage of syphilis ; congenital hypertrophy
— macrocheilla — is caused hy distension of the
lymphatic space ).
*'In the vitiation of the three humors, the lips
are sometimes blackish ( cyanosed ), sometimes
bronzed ( in Addison's disease ), or pallid { in
anemia ), and are covered with various kinds
of eczemas.
•*In the labial diseases, originating from the
derangement of the blood ( vessels ), the lips
are covered with tumors which hcxve color like
dates ( reddish brown ), and they contain blood
and bleeding takes place from them {angioma).
**In the labial diseases, from the corruption
of flesh, the lips become heavy and swollen, and
the tumors appear like meat balls and germs
from the edges enlarge the ulceration ( a some-
what irregular ulcer, usually upon the lower lip,
20
306 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
gradually enlarging, recurrently scabbing over
and becoming denuded, is probably an epitbe-
lioma ).
**In the adipose labial affection, the lips are
pruritic, nurnl), soft and heavy, and tliey are
bright like the outer layer of clarified butter ;
and from them there is a clear exudation
like clear crystal ( congenital hypertrophy^
macrocheilia^ is caused by distension and
dilatation of the lymphatic spaces, the lower
lip being frequently affected ).
*'In the traumatic lesions of the lips, there is
a terebrant pain, or like that of a wound from
an axe, and it becomes like the color of blood
( inflamed ), tumorous ( inflammatory swelling )
and pruritic/* Susruta II. 16. 5-12 '3*.
9§i<T?r^ ^i?pitf^ ^fr^ci^ «m^ ^ I
^^q^ ^M w^\ 35)p5<nnft it <
DISEASES 307.
Diseases of the Gum.
In 'sitadci tlie gums are bleeding, ulcera-
tive with fonl-snielling exudation, and soft
( spongy ) ; tin's disease is due to the vitiation
of the blood and the 'kayha* ( gangrenous
stomatitis ).
In *d'rnta-pupputaka* there is an intense
pain and swelling at the root of one or two teeth
for a time ; this is due to the vitiation of the
'kapha* and the blood. (Gum boits are usually
formed round a foreign particle, especially with
the tartar deposit encrusted with the pyogenic
bacteria, but their outlet of discharge being
closed ).
The disease in which the teeth become loose,
and from the tooth sockets blood and pus come
out, is called 'danta vestaka* ( in pyorrhea
alveolariSy the feeth l^ecorae loosened as the gum
•q?T^i»^ f4?'^% tn^f^ "mfv^Wd: I
308 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
recedes or the pus socket causes neerosis of the
tissues at the root. The affection is probably
due to streptococcal infectioQ of tlie periosteum
of the alveoli. Usually it is associated with an
excess of tartar deposit or the carious condition
of the teeth ).
The disease in wliich the gum has a pruritic
and painful inflammation, and salivation, is called
the 'muslra* ( gingiviUs ).
The disease in which the teeth are loose in
their sockets, the palate is falling ( uvula
descendens ) and ulceration in the gum and
pain in the buccal cavity, is called tlie ^maha-
mu^ra { gangrenous gingivitis ) .
The disease in which there is ulceration and
bleeding of the gum, is called the 'paridara^
( phlegmonous gingivitis ).
The disease in which there is necrosis of the
tissues in the sockets, and for this reason the
teeth become loose, there is bleeding at the
slight pressure of the teeth, but slight pain,
and with the bleedinsr the mouth becomes foul-
smelling, is called the ^upakusa' ( chronic
hyper rophic gingivitis ).
If strong inflammation follows the trauma-
tism of the gum, and tlie teeth become loose, it
is called *vaidarbha* .traumatic interstitial ulitis).
DISEASES 309
If an extra tootli appears due to the influence
of *vayu* with intense pain, it is called the
^varddhana* ( wisdom tooth or dens serotinus,
the most posterior of the molar teeth appear
about the eighteenth year ). The pain ceases
after the tooth comes out.
"The disease in which in the gum of the
lower posterior tooth, tliere is a large neo-
plasm with intense pain and salivation, is called
the 'adhimartisa' (epithelioma or epulis. Epulis
is a fibrous growth and develops in the peri-
dontal membrane ; it is often found near a
decayed tooth, grows slowly and forms a more
or less pedinculated tumor of the same color as
the gum ).
The tumors of the gum are of five kinds
with symptoms similar to those that have been
described of the tubular vessels, by the corrup-
tion of 'vayu, pitta^ kapha, their morbid combi-
nation or infection' and they are known as
^panchanadt {aloeolar abscesses are nearly always
due to sepsis originating in a decayed tooth.
(1) The pus may be limited to' the margin of
the gum, forming a tumor. (2) The pus may
be slow in forming and there may be a great
inflammatory infiltration of the cheek with the
edema of the face and spasm of the masseter
310 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
and pterygoid muscles. (^.) The pus may ex-
tend widely beneath the periostenum and
cause necrosis of the jaw. (4) A persistent
sinus or sinuses may be present if the abscess
has burst spontaneously or has been opened
externally ; there is either a dead tooth, a
portion of a fang or a piece of necrosed bone
whicli keeps open tlie sinus. (5) The pus may
burst into the antrum of the upper jaw or
extend deeply and widely in the neck)". Suiruta
11. 16. 14.2i,^^'.
135. 3flPo<T ^^^»3l 41«l«*t«T<T ITTHt 1 1
■zi[^^ ^»H5ifi! IJ^^fiT V^^ 'g H
■ ^^ftfera^ ^ ?rej 'j^^: ^^r^ '^''t I
^^fire: ^ r?m ^ ^srtfticw»JT^: ii t<
^"Tii^^fjfl ^^^Ji^Tg ^l^^#«?f'^ I
DISEASES 311
Diseases of the Teeth.
**The disease in which the tooth becomes
Wackened and perforated by microbes, due to
the vitiation of the blood, and the tooth becomes
loose accompanied by inflammation of the gum,
pain and salivation, is called the 'krimi-dantaha'
•dental caries : it is a fact of common observation
that caries begin only at spots protected from
friction or left uncleansed as (a) pits, grooves
and fissures in the enamel ; (b) proximal
surfaces just above the contact points ; (c)
surfaces which for any cause are habitually
'«ir«T?i'^ «^% ^ gT# 'jfff "^ anq^ I
^? ?^q^ 9*^ sira^ ??^rs[ I
B12 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
unclean ; (d) necks of the teeth at or near
the junction of the cementura and the enamel.
In these localities, the oral bacteria, protected
from friction, attach themselves to the enamel,
forming microbic plaques which are sufficiently
adherent to attach themselves, obtaining their
food supply from the carbohydrate and the
albuminous particles that adhere to those spots
and are not thoroughly cleansed. From car-
bohydrate fermentation, lactic acid is produced
and this is prevented from being diluted and
washed away ; the slightly alkaline salivary
secretion by the bacterial plaques and added
to it, the enzymes secreted by the bacteria,
attack the inorganic matter of the enamel
following first the interprismatic cement sub-
stance between the prisms, later dissolving
the transverse cement substance of the globules.
The effect is to 'produce an irregular and
roughened surface, and in the process of enamel
dissolution and decalcification, the bacteria enter
into the crevices and gradually gain access to
the dentine. The leptothrix buccalis maxima
is invariably associated with more or less
streptococci and bacillus buccalis maximus
in rapid dental caries).
The diseale in which the teeth are very
DISEASES 31S
sensitive to cold or heat (paroxysms of pain
induced by thermal stimuli ), is called the
''danta-harsa^ (hyperemia of the dental ptilp : the
most common cause of active hyperemia, of the
pulp is a lessening of the non-conducting cover-
ing of the organ — enamel and dentine, tlirough
abrasion, erosion, fracture or caries, leading to
an increased response and continued irritation
of the pulp tlirough the thermal stimuli ).
The disease in which the face becomes mis-
shaped ( either by caving in through necrosis
of the jaw-bone or with odontomes which are
neoplasms composed of dental tissues in vary-
ing proportions and different stages of deve-
lopment X the teeth become eroded and painful,
is called the bhanjanaka ( necrosis of the jaw
with odontones and erosion of the teeth ).
If the solids ( mala ^ihe mineral constitu-
ents and the mucus of the saliva ) are dried
up and become sugar-like hard on the teeth,
by *vayu and pitta' it is called the 'sarkara*
( salioary calculus or tartar : the deposition
of the tartar is perhaps activated by the bac-
terial fermentation, causing the precipitation
of the mineral salts, chiefly calcium phosphate
enclosing with them the epithelium and the
bacteria, especially the leptothrix forms ).
^14 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
If this tartar scales out with the dentine,
it is called the kapalika (large tartar formations) ;
it is very destructive to teeth.
If by the vitiated blood and the *pitta\ the
enamel of the teeth become burnt ( stained )
dark-brownish or greenish, it is called the
*ayava'da7itaka' {the green stain of the enamel :
these most common green deposits upon enamel
occur upon both the temporary and the
permanent teeth, particularly of young persons ;
the deposits usually have a concentric form
and are mainly upon the labial faces of the
anterior teeth. The green stain is usually
preceded by a lack of oral hygiene and super-
ficial decalcification of the enamel, as it is
found slightly roughened, indicating the action
-of the acids upon it by fermenting food
particles sticking to it. The green stain is
the more advanced stage of the dark-brownish
coloring).
If tlie jaw is fractured by the source of *myu*
througli loud talking, chewing of hard substances
^r yawning, it is called ^hann-molcsa' (fracture of
the jaw ) ; it gives all the symptoms of
tetanus ( the fracture of a healthy jaw is only
possible through traumatism. But if it it
-eaten up by necrotic process as in the tertiary
DISEASES 315
«tage of syphilis, tubercular caries, phosphorus
poisoning or lecal sepsis, and made very brittle,
it may be easily fractured by any slight
sudden tension as chewincj any hard substance
or movement). Susruta II. 16. 27-S3*^'.
Treatment : *'Without injuring the gum,
all the tartar deposits have to be carefully
scaled out ( by scalers ) ; then those parts of
the teeth are to be polished with the powder of
Butea frondosa (laksa) mixed with honey. ( The
modern treatment for the tartar is just the
same, except that to secure the smoothness of the
316 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
scaled surface, so that no nucleus is left for
the new tartar deposit, pumice-powder on a
piece of wood is used, instead of the powder
of Butea frondosa with honey)." Susruta IV.
22-23' ^^
"The alveolar abscesses should be treated in
the same way, as an ordinary abscess, with this
difference, that the tooth with the sepsis of
which the abscess has been formed, must be
extracted. If it can not be done, then after
cleansing ( an incision is made, large enough
to open the abscess cavity fully, inside the
mouth, all the pus is thoroughly drained off,.
And the abscess cavity is repeatedly washed
with antiseptic and astringment infusion or
decoction ), the abscess cavity should be cau-
terized either by caustic or cautery. If the
alveolar abscess is neglected, it is sure to cause
necrosis of the jaw. Therefore the tooth should
be uprooted ( thus cure may be effected in
light cases, by causing the abscess drainage
through the tooth socket ). If the bone has
DISEASES 317
been affected ( necrosized ), it should be also
scraped off." Susruta IV. 22. 18^'\
"The disease in which the teeth seem to be
rent asunder with pain, is called ^dalana'
(odontalgia of neuralgic cliaracter or due to
caries or periodonitis)." Susruta II. 16. 26*^^.
The Diseases of the Tongue.
**The disease in which the tongue becomes
inflamed, due to tlie derangement of *vayu\
loses its sensibility to taste, and becomes fissured
like that of the leaves of Hecion(E\ is the *X)ata^
disease of tl)e tongue ( glossitis desiccans or
chronic superficial glossitis may be induced by
138. -^^^^ ^ Trft'rr f^^'^m ^ 55'n^ i
139. ^^3F% ^'^m ^cTT ?lf^^'^lf^fTi: I
3l8 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINB
persistent and excessive use of tobacco, spirits
and liiglily spiced foods ; it is characterized
hy the slow form ition of a number of deep
fissures and indtn rations, in the depth of which,
there are ulcers and excoriations).
**The tongue is dark-yellowish, congested and
is convered with blood red fissures in the 'pitta'
disease of the tongue ( the raspberry tongue
has a pale-red surface, from which project
greatly swolle i and bright-red fungiform
papillae, as it appears in the first stage of th©
scarlet fever or in other acute specific infec-
tions ).
*'The tongue is s^;^oUen, heavy and is covered
with a fur, resembling the thorns of ^BombacU
heptaphyllV in the *kapha* derangement of the
tongue ( the tongue is flabby, swollen, indented
and covered witlj a uniform, yellow pasty fur
in catarrhal gastritis or gastro-duodenitis ).
"The severe inflammation that is caused in the
tongue by the corrupt 'kapha* and the blood, is
called the *aldsa' (glossitis) ; in severe cases
paralysis of the tongue and ulceration at its root,
{cellulitis or parenchymatous inflammation of the
tongue is due to the infection of streptococcus ;
while acute glossitis may be the result of a
burn or wasp-sting ),
DISEASES 319*
The disease in which the tongue is inflamed
and on the tip of the tongue, there is a saliva-
ting, pruritic and painfully congestive tumor^
is called *upajihvika* ( secondary syplilliiic sore,
usually as condylomata, accompanied hy sub-
acute glossitis, arising from the primary hard
or tender ulcerating nodule that is seen on the
tip of the tongue in a syphilitic lesion j or it
may be carcinoma of the tongue.)" Su§ruta
n. 16. 37^*".
The Diseases of the Palate.
"The elongated tumor that develops and
spreads from the bottom of the palate like a
leathern bag filled with air, is called galasun-
dika* (angioma of the palate) ; it causes poly-
dipsia, bronchitis and dyspnea ( in uvulutis ).
*'The tumor that develops at the hottom of
Wr gsfi q|^ f^ =g ??tHt^: !Ul«r*^f^*Jii*m: tl ^V
f^ ^ 3 FcW^wrfli 3T|^ ^% fer ^5ui)fd tt^ ii H
Hl^lil^^: ^^?^ff rjiil4i"iW4 5rRi: 4>'W-*4ini: I
320 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the palate ( an acute abscess from a carious
tooth in tlie upper jaw may spread inwards
and raise tlie rauco peristeum of the hard palate)
like tlie ( fruit of ) 'Memordlca monadelpha' ;
it causes pricking pain and hyper<Bmia and it
suppurates {septic tumor of the palate).
"The reddisli and the benumbing tumor that
develops in the palate, is called the ^adhrusa^
( the peritonsila?' abscess is liable to burrow in
the soft palate ) 5 it causes high fever and
intense pain.
"The slightly painful and pale tumor that
dievelops slowly for a long time like tlie tortoise
shell, due to the corruption of 'phlegma' is
called the 'mamsa-kachchhapa ( endothellomal
tumor of the palate ).
* Tho tumor that appears in the palate like
the lotus bud, is called the 'arvouda'' {angioma) ;
it has ail the characteristics of the angioma as
mentioned before.
"At the base of the uvula, the malignant and
painless carcinoma that grows, is called the
*mamsa-sanghata' {papilloma of the uvula).
*'The painless and the chronic tumor that
grows in the palate like a plum, due to the
corruption of tiie *phlegma andfat\ is called the
^talu pupputa' {cyst or gumma of the palate). .
DISEASES 321
There is much edema and lacerating pain in
the palate, and dyspnea, due to the derangement
of pitta associated with vayu which causes talu'
sosa'' when the syphilitic guramata hreak, septic
infection follows, and thus there is usually much
edema of the surrounding tissues.
There is malignant ulceration of the palate
due to the derangement of *pitta\ which causes
Halu-paka"^ {syphilitic ulceration of the palate
which may lead to its perforation, usually
circular or oval in shape, and finally to its
necrosis and destruction of its major part )**.
Susruta 11. 16. 39-47' *\
141. 3:i^W5^*=^ 3(^«i^Tg ^i^>
21
322 ANCIEKT HINDU MEDICINE
The Diseases of the Throats
'The gummata that are produced in the
pharynx, causing its stricture, due to the
vitiated action, either individual or collective,
of *vayu, pitta, kapha and the hlood^ are called
the *rohint {syphilitic gummata) ; due to the
pharyngeal stenosis, life is lost (unless it is
treated by the regular passage of bougies for
the rest of the patient's life, and in some
intractable cases gastrostomy may be necessary).
The painful gummata, causing stricture of
the pharynx, also appear at the dorsum of the
tongue in the *vata^ gummatous affection of
the pharynx ; and it has all the complications
of the ^vata\
The gummata appear and ulcerate rapidly
DISEASES 323
with liigh fever in, the *pitta' affection of the
disease.
The gummata (or syphilitic nodes) are hard
and ulcerate freely in the 'kapha* affection of
the disease, and they cause stricture of the
pharynx.
The gummata ulcerate deeply and are very
mtrac table and have all the triple complication
lathe 'sdtiuipata* (acute) affection of the disease.
The gummata have all the symptoms of
the *pitta' affection of the disease, and are
covered with the abscesses in the blood lesion
of the 'rohinC ; it is incurable,
A plum-stone like (zizyphus jujubse), rough
and hard tumor that develops and causes
terebrant pain, is called 'kantha-saluka* {carci-
noma of the 'pharynx) ; it is curable by operation.
SmrutaW. 16. 49-55^* ^
142. n^sf^: fqrr^ ^ ^fedl
5?^;^ TITO *w<)fM«ils^?T^
324 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
If a tumor ( syphilitic or tuberculous cancer )
appears at the root of the tongue due to the
vitiation of the *kapha and the blood* as it
appears on its tip, it is called *adhi-jihva'
{cancer of the tongue) ; aDd if it suppurates, it
is incurable.
The tumescence that develops like a bracelet
and causes the stricture of the esophagus, is
called the ^valaya^ ( hypertrophic thickening in
the phreno-cardiac portion of the gullet) ; it is
intractable and incurable.
The inflammation that causes dyspnea,
pain and devitalising, due to the derangement
of ^hapha and vayu' is the *valasa* ( stenosis of
the trachea^ caused by acute edematous inflam-
mation from diphtheria and specific fevers,
sometimes leading to perichondritis and erysipe-
cftsr?^^ fqrirsff^ci: tF«ng u k\
DISEASES 325
las spreading down tbe throat or spreading to
the mucosa through a tracheal wound) ; this
is hard to cure.
The globular, elevated, congestive, pruritic,
slightly suppurative, sweetish and heavy-
inflammation that is developed in the tonsils, due
to the vitiation of *kapha and the blood', is
called the *eka-vriida' (phlegmonous or suppura-
tive tonsilitis).
The elevated and the globular inflammation
that develops with high fever and 'hyperaemia' ;
is called the *vrnda' (follicular or lacunar
tonsilitis ) ; if it be of ^vata' origin, it causes
pricking pain.
The hard tumor that develops causing
stricture of the esophagus, due to the corruption
of the humors, resembling ^^ataghn/i* which is
a stone covered with iron pikes, and likewise
the tumor that is covered with papillae, is called
the ^sataghnt {'papilloma) ; it is an incurable
disease, and it has all the complications of the
three corrupt humors ( malignant papilloma of
the esophagus ).
The hard and slightly painful tumor that
develops in the esophagus, causing dysphagia,
and resembles in appearance and shape the
stone of *EmhliG myrobalan\ is called the
326 AKCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
'gildyu\ benign fibroma of the esophagus ). It
is curable by operation.
The tumescence that develops throughout
the throat, due to the corruption of the three
humors, is called the 'gala-oidf^adhi' ( paren-
chymatous goitre in which there is a general
and uniform enlargement of the tliyroids and
the vesicles are over-distended with colloid
secretion, which however does not escape
freely into the lymphatics) ; it causes all kinds
of pain of the corrupt humors, as pricking
pain, hypersemia and pruritis, and has all the
complications of an acute abscess (parenchy-
matous goitre may be provoked by septic
absorption from a local septic lesion as carious
tooth, an ulcer, suppurative tumor or drinking
water from a contaminated source).
If such a large turner develops in the
esophagus, due to the corruption of the
*kapha and the Uood,' as to cause aphagia,
dyspnea and high fever, it is called the
Ujalaugha^ ( a large epithelioma that causes
the stricture of the esophagus and the trachea ).
The disease in which, due to the stenosis of
the trachea, the patient suffers from dyspnea
and falls into a swoon, the voice is broken, the
throat becomes dry and the patient collapses, is
D ISEASES 827
called the ^svaraghna* ( stenosis of the trachea
may be caused by many diseases as : (l)enlarge-
ment or neoplasm of the thyroids ; (2) enlarge-
ment and the tumor of the thymus ; (3) media-
stinal tumors or abscesses ; (4) pressure stenosis
by aneurism ; (5) tertiary syphilitic lesions ).
The disease in which there is an extensive^
very painful and continuous inflammation which
gradually causes stenosis of the throat, is called
^mmnsa'tana^ {syphilitic ulceration of the throat)',.
it is deadly and arises from the corruption of the
three humors.
The disease in which there is a bleeding
inflammation with pricking pain and hypersemi^
and which ulcerates with cadaverous odor, especi?
ally on the side the patient sleeps, is called the
*vidar'i* ( syphilitic gangrenous ulceration of the
throat ). Susnita II. 16. 56-67'*^
143. Bffnr^: ^^: ^TH^ 3 rii^l«=<«-ylMR ^fil^T: I
cT ^I3^'4mfd<4K=n'W<* f^^F?3RW ^^ "^^^Htl II V^
^ ^ RT^R 1^: yt<l '^^Trfeu '9T<^<5^MM**< I
w^^s^ f^d<i)d^i^%T^^' f^35n ^mm, II v^
sfTrt^jf?^: MR+r^4d1s^ °^lM(Hl^T^dsriMMrT: II i(5:
o28 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Diseases of the Buccal Cavity.
The buccal cavity is covered with ulcers with
pricking pain in the 'vata sarvva-sara* ( ulcera-
tive stomatitis or putrid sore of the mouth occurs
in oral sepsis, especially associated with carious
tooth or pyorrhea ).
The buccal cavity is covered with small
reddish or dark-yellowish vesicles ( small, slight-
ly raised whitish plaques starting as vesicles,
surrounded by a red areola) in 'pitta sarvixxx-sara'
{aphthous or follicular stomatitis, which is very
DISEASES 329
common in infants and young children associat-
ed chiefly with indigestion, but also prevails
in adults when the general health is impaired ).
The buccal cavity (especially on the tongue
and the inner margins of the lips) is covered
with pruritic, slightly painful and skin-colored
330 ANCIENT HlNDtr MEDICINE
patches in *Jcapha sarvva-sara^ ( mycotic or para-
sitic stomatitis in which small, slightly elevated,
pearly white spots are developed through
*saccharomycss (pidinm) albicans* in debilitated
children and old people ).
All the symptoms of aphthous stomatitis
appears in stomatitis from blood vitiation, and
by many authorities, it is called the 'mukha-
j)aka* ( acute or catarrhal stomatitis in which
the mucosa membrane of the mouth is more or
less extensively reddened, dry and hot, with
associated salivation and swelling of the tongue,,
due to gastro-intestinal disturbances or due to
irritants as alcohol or tobacco )" Sus?mta II. 16.
69-72^**.
144. ^=^ ' ^^li^i'i y+iTii5
DISEASES 331
VI. Tumors.
"Tumor (granfhi)y abscess (vidradhi), neoplasm
{alaji perhaps means edema, as arvvuda has
heen definitely defined as neoplasm), all develop
from inflammation ( Sotha ). They have all their
own individual charateristics, and tumors are
of various kinds. The swelling that is extensive,,
slightly elevated, of even or uneven surface, in
the skin ( including mucous membrane ) and the
tissues, confined to a part of the body due to a
lesion, is called the 'sotha' ( inflammation )."
Susruta I. 17. 2»*\
'"^otha' is of three varieties, 'vai/u, pitta and
hapha\ Either they originate from internal
causes ( in the process of eliminating toxins
produced as a metabolic reaction, or, introduced
into the economy) or external lesions (as trauma-
' tism, microbic invasion or local irritants ).
Cutting, penetrating, crushing, lacerating, press-
ing, beating, binding and all kinds of wound and
oppression of the tissue cause inflammation ; as
well as the contact of the ( toxic or irritant sub-
145. ^Mv^j^ci^RT ?lf^Rl;f^'4^^'iy<^^: ^TF^ 5?mPTt-
sf^iH4«Ti ^^'j^ltd^:, ife^rar: ^^'f«ra: mt ^WT ^
332 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
stances ) flower, fruit or juice of ^Semecarpus
afiacardium\ sting of insects ( mucuna pruritus )
and ( penetration ) of microbes ( krimi ), at the
contact of injurious leaves, vines and bulb ( as
that of the poison ivy, Bhus radicans ), the per-
spiration, or excreta of a poisonous creature, a
wound of a poisonous or non-poisonous creature
by tooth, horn or nail, poisonous gas ( visa vata )
and fire — all these cause inflammation." Charaka
I. 18. V'\
''Vomiting, tympanites, cholera, dyspnea,
asthma, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, anemia, gastro-
intestinal troubles, menorrhagia, fistula-in-ano,
and piles by osmosis («^^-Z:«rs«^ia=excessive pres-
sure ) cause (edematous) inflammation." Charaka
I. 18^ 4^*^
When the tissues are injured by mechanical
146. =527: ^^ VF^-?? ^Rrftra^5'lif5?^lTTT: I ^ gsiftf^vSTT:
DISEASES 333-
agents, or, by chemical, thermic or bacterial
irritants or their toxins, inflammation sets in as
a restorative process of the tissue repair.
When a mechanical agent has produced a cut,
the edges of the wound are slightly separated,
and the open vessels are bleeding. The first
reactions will arrest the hemorrhage. On the
one hand, the calibre of the vessels will contract
in consequence of the direct excitation of the
nonstriated muscular fibers entering into the
structures of their walls, and on the other hand
as the result of reflex constriction. The blood
flowing with less force, will coagulate ; fibrine
will be formed, and its effect will be to occlude
the vessel, to assure hemostasis and to unite the
edges of the wound, and then serve as a nutri-
tion and as a guide to cells which will insure
reparation. This commences when the cellular
elements lining the wound begin to proliferate
and form a cicatrix. To facilitate the work, the
leucocytes rush in, some to take part in the
formation of the tissues and others t@ carry away
the dead cells. This causes inflammation »
The same phenomenon occurs, with a chemi-
cal irritant or toxin ; if it be weak and diluted,^
it might be absorbed and neutralized without
any perceptible local reaction. But if it is
SS4i ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
strong enough to destroy a few cells, then
there is a vaso-dilatation, a serous exudation
( edema ) to dilute the toxin and to prevent
its absorption.
But if these wounds are not kept in aseptic
condition, the ubiquitous pus coccus {staphy-
lococcus or sh'eptococctis ), finding favourable
medium, starts a colony. It not only multiplies
•rapidly, but also engenders toxins which cause
death of the cells of the region, thus creating
a necro-biotic area, surrounded by a prolifera-
tive zone of the healthy tissues. Struggle now
begins between the invading hosts and the
•healthy tissues. If the victory is quick with
the latter, then the inflammation gradually
subsides. But if the tissues lack the resisting
power and the bodily defensive mechanism
is not powerful or prompt in its response, then
leucocytes circumscribe the infection, round
the dead cells, so that the general economy
<ian not be affected, and they can fight more
conveniently against the microbes and replace
the fallen defenders. Coincidently the nervous
terminations are aroused by the microbic toxins
and their excitation gives rise to a series of
reflex acts which ending in the active dilatation
of the vessels of the invaded area, are follow-
DISEASES 335
€d by migrations of the leucocytes and the
formation of the serous exudate. If the pus
cocci gain the upper hand, the cells that are
killed undergo liquefaction and are converted
into the pus^ so that an abscess results. This
soon coagulates and a creamy substance is
formed which softens towards the centre. And
if it be not now evacuated, the softened area
increases in size, the skin over it is thinned
, and mortified, and a small slough is formed,
through which the pus escapes and the tension
is relieved. If the pus cavity contains a ropy
fi.brile core, as in a boil or carbuncle, it indi-
cates that the cells have been destroyed in
mass by a virulent agent, and of the dead
cells, the core is composed. After the escape
of the i)us, a space — the abscess cavity, is left,
the walls of which are lined with vascular or
granulation tissues, which escaped destruction,
and which slowly fill the contracting cavity and
obliterate it by forming interstitial soar-tissues.
But if the abscess be deeply situated and be
not able to open on to a free surface, thus
allowing the pus to be drained off, the phago-
cytes mobilize all their forces, surround the
necrotic area and make an advance from all
sides. The vanguard of the advancing army is
336 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
composed of a more or less compact layer of
the mono-nuclear phagocytes {yolyhlasts) accom-
panied by numerous new vessels which bring
the food-supply for the phagocytic scavengers
who voraciously ingest all the enemy microbes
as well as the injared and dead cells, and carry
out their removal from the fighting zone. They
also drain off the toxic fluid of the disintegra-
ting cells. Behind the polyblasts, are seen in
mighty battle array, the fibroblasts or connecting
tissue cells in active proliferation, and with
their fibrous laminae shut off the abscess from
the healthy tissues, and with the absorption of
the pus, encroach on the pus area. With the
absorption of the pus, the abscess cavity is
replaced by the fibrous tissue, forming the
cicatrical scar. But in case the phagocytes lack
the necessary vitality for the operation, the
abscess burrows through and forms a dangerous
fistula ( visarpa na4l ).
Tumors are developed in these eight places :
skin (pustular inflammations : acne, ecthymoses,
variola ; subcutaneous inflammation : erysipelas,
eczema; vesicular lesions ( herpes ) or bullae
varicella, pempigus ), flesh ( myxoma = tumor of
mucous tissue ;^6rom« = tumor of fibrous tissue;
lipoma = tumor of adipose tissue • myoma = tumor
DISEASES 337
of muscular tissue ), vessels ( angioma — tumor
composed of blood vessels ; endothelioma — tumor
originating from the endothelium or lining cells
of the vascular tissue ; hemangioendothelioma
= tumor of endothelium of the blood-vessel; lym-
phcmgioendothelioma = tumor of the endothelium.
of the lymphatic vessel ; endothelioma = tumor
composed of both endothelial and muscular
elements ; lymphangioma^ tumor of the lymph-
atic vessels ; aneurism = a blood-containing-
tumor connecting directly with the lumen of the-
artery or formed by circumscribed enlargement
either axial or lateral, of an artery ) ligament
{snayu perhaps included soft cartilage: chondroma
= cartilaginous tumor), bone { osteoma =hox\.Y
tumor; odontoma = tumor of dental structure),,
joints (^ arthromeningitis = m^?cci\vci2Xmxs. of the
joints; synovitis = inflammation of the synovial
membrane, especially that of a joint ), nerve
{snayu: neuroma = i\xv[\ov in connection with,
nerves; glioma = neuroglial tumor), viscera
( papilloma, adenoma = epithelial tumors ; carci-
noma is maligant ) and in vital organs." Susrutct
I. 22. 2^*« .
148. c^t^wRRTCTF^^^i^^tg^Trkftc^ 5I^P[^^,
22
338 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
''Now we shall describe the exudation of
tumors. If the skin is bruised or lacerated, or
in skin-tumors ( varicella, acne, eczema etc. ),
whether spontaneously or when lanced, an aquatic,
slightly acid-smelling and light-yellowish exuda-
tion (serous fluid mixed with sebaceous secretion)
comes out. The evacuation of an abscess in the
flesh, is like clarified butter, thick, whitish and
slimy {caseous or cheesy pus — a very thick, almost
solid pus resulting from the absorption of the
liquor puris). In a recent incision of a blood vessel
there is an excessive bleeding from the vascular
swelling ; if it suppurates, the pus flows from it
as from a water-pipe {toya-nadl), thin, unmixed,
viscous, flaky (caseous flakes consisting of necrosed
or sphacelated cells and fatty acids, floating upon
the serous fluid) and has a pale brownish color
{serous or curdy pus). The exudation from a
*snayu* ( nerve or ligament tumor ) is creamy,
thick, mixed with blood and is like the mucous
from the nose {phlegmonous or laudable pus
which is a yellowish-white, creamy, thick and
odorless liquid ). If a bone is wounded or
fractured, a kind of pearly white exudation comes
out ; but that of an osseous tumor is mixed with
bone-marrow, blood and fat ( the pus of osseous
origin contains fat and often small splinters of
DISHASEt 339
%one ). If an inflammatory joint (tumous joint)
is pressed, no exudation comes out ; but on
contraction, extension,standing on the toes, sitting
low, pressure sitting, spasmic tension brings out
an exudation which is viscous, flaky, foamy and
is mixed with blood and pus (suppurated synovia).
Prom the visceral tumors, are evacuated blood,
urine, fecal matters, pus and serous fluid (there
•may be found in pus foreign bodies, tissue frag-
ments, elastic fibers, animal or vegetable
parasites, hydatids, actinomycets, organic liquids,
bile, milk, urine, fecal matters and alimentary
fragments. Their finding is of great importance
from a semiological standpoint, indicating as to
the origin of pus and as to the possibility of
organic fistula). As to the exudations of the
tumors of the vital organs, nothing is mentioned,
for they belong to the same category of tumors
of the skin and flesh (mucous membrane and the
muscular and adipose tissues ). Susruta I. 22.
149. ^3 ^^' ^m^il^ g^TH: I S^ ^5T§ f^gj^^ ^
340 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
The color of the pus is no less variable {Szisnitc»
IV. 1. 8-17 ). Usually yellowish, it may be of
orange, brownish red or greenish color. There is
no suppuration presenting blue color, but it is
occasionally seen due to the pigment produced by
bacillus pyocyaneus which is not pyogenic by
itself. However, there is no relation betw^een
the color of the pus and the cause which develops
it, but on the locality where it is formed and
imbibe the coloring matter, with the only
exception of the suppuration of the pneumococcic-
origin, which is thick, greenish and rich in
fibrine, often having the aspect of the false
membrane. In subcutaneous or pleural collections
the pus is phlegmonous, thick ; in meningeal
membranes of tlie brain, it is greenish ; in the
liver, of the chocolate color ; and reddish in the
DISEASES 341
lung. When it is of osseous origin, it of ten contains
fat and small splinters of bone. If it takes origin
in tlie glands of the skin, it produces a furuncle
or a carbuncle--lesion, remarkable for the presence
of sphacelated fragments of the cellular tissue,
which constitutes the core.
Fyogenic agents : Pyogenic agents wliich can
<jause suppuration are numerous. (1) Bacteria
habitually pyogenic : Staphylococcus aureus
and albus, streptococcus, pneumococcus, colon
bacillus and micrococcus tetragons are normally
encountered upon our integuments and though in
healthy condition of the tissues they usually live
a harmless saprophatic or vegetative life, yet
when the tissues are damaged or injured, and
therefore are incapable of offering natural resist-
ance to encroachment, they are particularly
apt to provoke suppuration. Of them staphylococci
are the most common pathologic agents, but
take nearly 250,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 of
them to provoke an abscess. (2) Specific
pyogenic bacteria are yet recognized to be only
three, namely : gonococcus, the bacillus of soft
chancre and the bacillus glanders. (3) Bacteria
accidentally pyogenic are those which cause
specific and well differentiated lesions of their
own, but may, also, cause suppuration under
342 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
certain conditions, as the tubercle bacillus causes-
cold abscess, and typhoid bacillus pus in the
bone. (4) Pyogenic fungi are the strep tothrix^
pergillus and odium. (5) The animal pyogenic
parasites are the amcebas of dysentery which not
only provoke ulcerations of the intestinal mucous
membrane, but also abscesses in the liver, and the
syphilitic spirocbeta which may cause gumma
and its ulceration. Gangrene is the morbid
process charcterized by the mortification (uecrobi'
osis) and the putrefaction of the tissues. The
microbes causing gangrene act upon the altered
tissues by interrupted circulation, by humoral
changes or by the interference of the arterial
circulation, especially in the extremities exactly
as they would act upon the tissues of the cadavers.
But between gangrene and the cadaveric putre-
faction, there is this difference, that in the
gangrene, the aftected parts are still the seat of
certain biotic reactions, as all the cells are not
equally attacked by the bacteria and quite a few
survive ; and moreover, there is partial influx
of serum, lymph, venous blood and blood pigments
and the bacteria attacking the exudate produce
new fermentations therein.
"The ingestion of heavy, unsuitable, dry,
rotten, or disharmonious combinations of foods,.
DISEASES 345
venery, excessive exertion (fatigue), retention
of the feces and the urine, and inflammatory
beverage provoke bulbous abscess like an ant-
hill, either by particular lesion or by their
combined elfects. In the anus, neck of th&
bladder, abdomen, axilla and the groin ( bubo-&n
inflammatory swelling of the lymphatic gland,,
usually leading to suppuration), kidneys (vrkka),
spleen, liver and the lung abscesses are formed
with the symptoms of superficial abscesses
{fw^uncles or boils )" Susnita II. 9. 13-14'^**.
"In abortion or injurious delivery, a woman
suffers with fever 'hypersemia' from dangerous
blood-abscess {ralda-vidradhi = septico-pyemia : if
the entire organism is invaded by bacteria which
are usually introduced through the septic
handling of the genital puerperal wounds, it is
150. jj°4^lci-^-<R^l'8T-^sg^f^^-M)^«^ld [
Z4i4i ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
called septicemia ; but if the purulent foci are
developed as tlie abscesses in the liver, kidney,
lungs, heart etc. which are known as meta-
static abscesses, it is called pyemia. In the
transitory stage of both these morbid processes,
it is often called septico- pyemia. However
septicemia and pyemia are both usually attended
by fever, diarrhoea and other symptoms of
malaise according to the virulence of the infec-
tion and the bodily reaction)". Siisruta II. 9.
"If any one neglects a suppurated abscess,
it burrows through to an interior organ, and as
it proceeds like a tube, it is called ^nadl-vrana'
{fistula?' abscess)" Susruta II. 10.9^^'.
152. ^ ^ q^f^T?^ qs^q^ ^
^f'J'tr irferf^ !i%f4 ^^
DISEASES 345
"When a rounded and knotted swellings is
developed by tlie corruption of the *'cata^ flesh,
blood, serous Jluid and the fat\ it is called
^granthi^ (cyst).
In the *vata-grantM {aneurism)^ pains are
felt with the sensation that the cyst is being
elongated by a gravitating force ( expulsive
paiu), that it is being torn (terebrant p.), that it is
being penetrated by needles (boring p.), as if
dashed out ( tensive p.), as if being lancinated
( lancinating p. ) or lacerated ( lacerating pain ) ;
it is dark and shaped like the bladder, and if it
bursts, pure blood comes out of it ( cmeiirism is
a blood-containing cyst formed by circumscribed
enlargement of an artery through which the
blood circulates. Such cysts are distinguished
by their expansive pulsation with each systole
of the lieart, by a thrill to be felt on pulpation
and by a 'bruit' heard on auscultation. As they
increase in size, they produce absorption of
adjacent structures and give rise to distressing
pain by their pressure on nerves, and their final
tendency is to burst, and if a large artery is the
seat of the cyst, to cause death ).
In 'pitta-granthV ( hemangioma ), there is
hyperemia, and the pain seems to be like that
of the application of caustics and cautery : the
346 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
cyst is of reddish or dark -yellowish color, and if it
bursts, very hot blood comes out ( hemanyioma
is a blood swelling or cyst due to the dilatation
of the blood vessels ).
The *Kap7ia granthis' {tubercles) are cold, pale,
slightly painful and are hard like stone, and
take a long time for their growth (suppuration) ;.
when they burst, a thick whitish pus comes out
of them ) ; tubercles are called cold abscesses or
they arouse no local or general reaction. Tubercles
appear under three different aspects ; gray
granulation, Laenneck's tubercle and caseous
mass. Gray granulation is a small, hard and
non-nuclear nodule, surrounded by a reddish
vascular zone and their dimensions vary from 0.5
millimeter to 2 or 3 millimeters, Laenneck's
tubercle is more voluminous ; it is a round, gray
or yellow mass, having the volume of a pea, a
hazelnut or a walnut. The caseous masses are
greenish-yellow deposits and look like Roque-
fort cheese. The tubercular abscess may also
arise from the breaking down of a tubercular
lymphatic vessel }.
The ^ Meda-granthi* {lipoma) is bright, volumi-
nous, slightly painful, but pruritic ; it grows
with the adiposity of the body, and declines with
its decrease : if it bursts, fat like that of the
DISEASES 347
kernel of the sesame or like clarified butter-
comes out ( lipoma is a tumor of the fatty tissue,
and grows in the subcutaneous tissues, especi-^
ally in parts subjected to pressure — the shoul-
ders and the buttocks, the abdominal wall and
the breast, though it may be present in tissues
containing very little fat as the dura matter,
submucous tissue of the intestine, as a single-
or multiple flattened, rounded or pendiculated
growth. When large it is always lobulated. The
yellowish tissue of the lobules is usually softer
and more plastic than the ordinary fatty
tissue ).
The *Shxt-grmithi\cirsokl aneurism) \s developed
by the derangement of ^vayu* in a weak person-
through wrestling which causes arterial disten-
sion, distortion or contortion and elevates them^
( the arteries ) like lotus stems, and makes of
tliem roundish tumors ; if these tumors are pain-
ful and temporary, they can be cured witb
difficulty, but if they are painless, permanent,,
voluminous or developed in the vital organs,
they are incurable ( cirsoid aneurism is a tumor-
like collection of dilated and elonsrated arteries.
In the majority of cases, aneurisms are due to
weakening of the arterial walls by arteriosclero-
sis. If the latter is diffuse, the dilatation
S4i8 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
is generally fusiform and irregular ; if circum-
scribed, the yielding is succular. Of the causes
of the sclerotic changes, syphilis is the most
important in producing aneurism. Prolonged
high arterial tension as in laborious muscular
work, cardiac hypertrophy, a great and sudden
strain as in heavy lifting, violent coughing or
'Straining may initiate the dilatation if, the coats
are weakened by previous disease ).
At the maxillary, clavicular, axillary.humero-
ulnar ( and radial, i. e. elbow ), scapulo-clavi-
cular ( back-neck ), and hyoid-thyroid-cartila-
ginous ( front neck ) joints, due to the accumu-
tion of fat, a solid and rounded tumor ( exosto-
■^'ts 07" osteoma ) or causes slightly painful fatty
and serous inflammation ; if the tumor resembles
the stone of myrobalan or the fish-roe, or
any such similar substance and has the color
of the skin, it is called 'apacJiC ( exostosis )
because of its swelling. Exostosis is pruritic
and slightly painful ; some of them (exostosises)
exudate when torn ( or incised ). It lasts for
a long time, its nodules being destroyed and
renewed. This disease . develops from ^fat and
kapha* and is very hard to cure ( osteomas and
osteomatoid conditions, in which there is loca-
lized or general overgrowth of the bone, are of
DISEASES 34^
common occurrence. Both groups are found
chiefly at the point of junction of a bone and
its cartilage, fasciae, periosteum, tendons and the
ligaments, in the pia matter and the dura matter
in the choroid and sclerotic coats of the eye
at the apex of the lungs, in the sldn and the
mucous membrane, and sometimes even in the-
penis and in muscular tissues. They are usually
divided into two groups, the exostosis, or those
growing from the surface of the bone, and
enostoses or those growing within the bone..
And again they may be divided according to-
their structure, into eburnated exostosis intense-
Iv hard like that of tlie cement of the tooth
and spongy or cauliflower exostosis ).
Due to some lesion, the tissues become affect-
ed, and a rounded, solid neoplasm slightly
painful, voluminous, and deep-seated but with
slender base, grows without suppuration ; it
is called arvvuda ( tumor ^ neoplasm or cancer).
Due to contraction of the blood-vessels and.
the blood, owing to a papuliferous, slightly
ulcerative and exudative meat-ball {neophxsm)
is ferm whicli, grows rapidly ane causes inces-
sant bleeding. This is c?i\\Qi\.'rakta-arvvuda^ {papil-^
loma). Due to the complications ( sequels )
arising from the loss of blood, the papilloma
350 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
victim becomes anemic. It is an incurable
disease ( papilloma is any abnormal excrescence
having a villous structure, but more properly
a tumor of the skin or of the mucous membrane,
either sessile or pedunculated, consisting of
hypertrophied or new-formed papillae, covered
by an envelope of the epithelial cells separately
on each papillae, so as to produce a villous or
filiform appearance. Papilloma is usually benign
but if neglected, it may form the starting point
or be converted into benignant ^epithelioma'.
Also a destructive papilloma is known which
is probably a carcinomatous form, and which
is ulcerative and in which the papillary growth
upon the surface extends into and destroys the
subjacent tissues.
If any part of the body is lacerated by a blow,
there is developed a painless, bright, skin-colored,
non-suppurative, stone-hard and fixed tumor,
due to the lesion of the tissues ; and it is
called mamsa arvvuda, ( myxoma usually occur
in submucous, subcutaneous or other connective
tissues in the intermuscular septa between the
bundles of nerves, in periosteum and in sub-
serous fat, and has the general character of
tumors of this group ). If a myxoma victim
partakes of moat, this tumor becomes thickened
DISEASES 351
and incurable. And of the benign-symptomatic
tumors those which are infiltrative ( or malignant
breast tumors ) are incurable.
Of the above-mentioned tumors those which
are exudative or develop in the vital organs or
in the vessels ( arterial, venous, lymphatic or
nervous ) or those which do not move ( suppu-
rate ? ) are incurable. If a new tumor deve-
lopes on another, it is called *adhyarvvuda*
( secondary or proliferation tumors that develop
adjacent to each other as pairs are called 'dvir-
urvvuda' ( double tumors ). It is also incurable".
''Susruta 11. 11. 2-15.^ ^^^
f^^Tf*If%rg ^'S^^^f?[W: ^^'^^SF^ ^WJ^ U ic
352 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
"A neoplasm or tumor is a new formation
of tissue, which is atypical in structnre, serves
no useful purpose in the whole economy and
the growth of which has no typical termination."
Accordins: to Cohnheim there remains in the
adult enough of unappropriated embryonic
residues which if activated by any mechanical
or microbic irritant outstrip the normal calcu-
lus growth and form a tumor possessing an
unutilized and consequently an exaggerated
power of proliferation. But the cells of the
malignant neoplasms are themselves capable of
starting new growths {metastases) if carried to
spit^rH^S^q^: irf^raTT: ^5rf% 5T3:2Tf^^ ^5rf5?! ^F^ I
DISEASES 353
distant parts by circulation, as a malignant tumor
of the breast may start new cancers far removed
from the original lesion into the Jungs, ribs,
brain and the abdomen through the lymphatic
current. No microbic agent has yet been definite-
ly identified with the tissues of the malignant
tumor, though * micrococcus neoforfans^ has been
found in both benign and malignant neoplasms.
However, the probability is that there is a specific
pathogenic cancerous agent. Fortunately all
neoplasms are not dangerous. The benign tumors
are entirely harmless unless they are situated in
a sensitive position, where by their growth they
might cause pressure on the nerves or displace
the vital organs. And they never reproduce
themselves in distant parts by grafting like the
malignant growths. And the fundamental
difference between the two types, though the
process of their growth has the same tendency of
exxaggerated, abnormal proliferation and multi-
plication of their own cells, lies in the fact that
-the benign tumor does not eat its way into the
surrounding tissues, but remains closed in its
own fibrous capsule. While a malignant tumor
infilters into the neighboring tissues, causes
destruction of the healthy cells, creates an ulcera-
tive zone and therein transplants a new colony.
23
%
354. ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
But only sarcoma, endothelioma and carcinoma
are malignant. However, between benign adeno-
ma and malignant epithelioma there exist numer-
ous transitions, and under certain circumstances,
a benign tumor may turn into the malignant
type as 'destructive papilloma'. And though
tumors may be observed in all ages, yet their
frequency and nature vary considerably at
r different periods of life. In the defective develop-
ment of the embryo, angiomata are frequently
met. During early life sacromata are observed,
located chiefly in the kidneys. At puberty
exostoses are frequent. In women at a later
period, ovarian cysts belonging to the group of
adenomata and epitheliomata are encountered.
From th.e age of fourteen onward, epithelioma
becomes more and more common, reaching its
maximum of frequency between the age of fifty
and fiftv-five vears. A!2:e exercises no less in-
fluence upon tlso localization than upon the
nature of the tumors. In children, they affect,
in order of frequency, the eye where melanotic
sjircoma is met with, the kidney, testicles and
spleen. In adults tlie part of the body most
frequently attacked is the stomach, uterus, liver,
mamma and tiie intestine in the order mention-
ed. It is certain that the irritation alone,.
DISEASES 355
microbic or mechamcal,is not sufficient to develop
tumor unless the organism is predisposed to it by-
heredity, or has aquired this characteristic
through some morbid process of pathogenesis
which is not vet understood.
The abscess {Vrana^furuncle^oW or carbun-
cle, differs fromthe furuncle or the boil in various
points. ( I ) It generally occurs singly and
usually appears at the back of the neck, the
back or the buttocks. ( 2 ) It is very large in
size like a hen's q^^ or even larger. ( 3 ) It
contains more than one core ( necrotic tissue or
suppuration points as in furuncle ), due to
( corruption ) of the ^vayu, pittcf, kapha and the
blood', produces intense burning, throbbing,
tremulous and pricking pain, hyperf^mia^ sup-
puration, redness, swelling and hyperesthesia ;
and it causes various kinds of pain and exuda-
tion." Susruta IV. I. 20^'^
"There are sixty treatments of 'vrancC (sup-
purative tumor, especially furuncle) as folloAvs:
fasting {apatarj)ana) to facilitate the elimination
of the toxic and the effete matter circulating in
154. Ptj^«iPl44JiiWF^Wcft^^ qT^-?TTr-?.iI|^?:5in eipft 5TR\>
356 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the blood which predisposes the tissues to pyoo-e-
nic infection ), epithem ( alepa, to spread over
the boil to releive pain, congestion, to focalize
the inflammation and to bring out suppuration),
lotion ( pariseha, to wash the inflamed part for
asepsis and to relieve pain ), salve ( abhyanga to
smear over as an antiseptic and analgesic ),
fomentation ( sveda^ as an analgesic and sup-
purantia ), emollient ( vimlapana^ to soften and
beat the boil ), cataplasm ( upanaha^ as a sup-
purantia ), suppurantia ( pachana, to cause
early suppuration ), leeching ( visrdvana, to apply
sucking leeches to relieve congestion ), emulsion
( snelia, as a stimulating nourishment ), emetic
( vamana, to remove gastric irritants ), dissection
( chhedana^ to remove the ulcerative parts of a
non-suppurative tumor ), incision ( vedana=
lancing to cause the drainage of the pus ), sca7^i-
jication ( darana^ to softer the skin so as to
cause spontaneous bursting of the abscess in the
timid women and children who are afraid of
lances and incision ), evacuation ( lekhana, to
scratch and to wipe out the impacted caseous
pus from the abscess cavity ), exploration (esana
to find out the nature of the abscess cavity in a
fistula ), exti^action ( aharana, to extract any
foreign body from an abscess),pww(?^wr^ {vyadhana.
DISEASES 357
exploratory puncture of a cavity or a tumor
with a hollow needle to determine the presence
or absence of fluid or gas, and its nature, if
present ), suction ( vidravana, to suck the liquid
pus and exudation from an abscess cavity or
serous fluid from hydrocele or ascites through a
tube by exhausting the air in the front ), suture
( sivana, to reunite by stitching a wide gaping,
non-suppurative wound with a silk-thread), appo-
sitional reunion ( sandhana, to put the wounded
and operated parts in their proper place and to
unite them together ), compi^essive epitliem
( p'idana^ an epithem that draws the pus to the
surface ), hemostatic ( sonitasthapana, to arrest
bleeding of a wound ), lenitive ( nirvvajjana, to
soothe and to relieve irritation ), medicinal
fomentation ( utkcbHka, to provoke suppuration ),
antiseptic astringent ( kasaya^ to cleanse the
wound-cavity ), collyrium ( vartti^ as disinfect-
ant \mucilaginous paste {katka, as a disinfectant),
ointment ( ghrta^ as depurant ), oit ( taila^ as
depurant ), chemical action [rasakriya^ of sesame
decoction, thickened and made into paste with
the mixture of iron sulphide ( swastrajam
sakas'isam ), arsenic disulphide ( manahsila ) and
arsenic trisulphide ( haritala )] to be applied to
tlie abscess — Susruta IV. I. 59 ], fine bland
358 ANCIENr HINDU MEDICINE
po/vder ( avachu7^naiia, as a deodorant ), fumiga-
tion {mmna-dhupana, to expose tlie abscess cavity
to medicinal gases \ vulnerary ( ul^adana, to
promote liealing and cicatrization ), inimctioii
{ avasadana^ to promote tissue formation and
normal circulation in the cicatrized area ), emol-
lient ( mrdu'harma, to soften the skin ), tissue-
hardener ( daruna karma^ to harden the tissues
with tannic astringents ), caustic ( ksara-Jzai^ma,
destroy a lonuj standinsr ulcer which is hard to
cure ), cautery ( agni-karma^ to scar the ulcerated
tissues which do not easily cure, especially in
the bladder and tlie joints ), pigmentaj^y ( krsna-
kar}na, to promote pigment cells in tlie pale
cicatrised area), plgmento-lysin {pandu-karma^ to
destroy the pigment, in order to bleach the dark-
ened area), plgment-normalixer {pratisaram,
to normalise the skin- color of the affected area ),
hair-grower {roma->]ahjanana, to promote the
growth of hair, where the hair follicles have been
destroyed), depilatory {lomapaharavha^ to cause
the falling out of hair where it is not desirable,
or by shaving ), clyster ( vaf-ti-kainna^ as an
antiseptic injactiou in a deep-seated a1>3cess),
irrigation (uttara-vasti, to wash out the purulent
deep seated abscess cavity ), bandage ( vanda, to
protect the wound from microbic infection ),
DISEASES 359
plastei^ ( patra-dmia, as a pepastic). gef'micide
{krmighna, as a destructive agent of the micro-
bes ), detoxicauts ( visaghna ), stimulants
(vrmhana, to a-ctivatethe orsranisra to fi«]itao:aiTist
the disease, to throw off the toxins and to restore
health ) sedatives ( siro-vlrechana , to remove^-
congestion from the upper parts of the body,
in case of abscesses there ), snuff ( uasi/a, as a
sedative ), mouth-tva'sh ( havala-dharana^ as a
disinfectant in stomatitis), fitniigation ( dhuina,
exposure to the action of a disinfectant smoke ),
analeptic ( madhu-sarpi^ a restoration), operation
( yantra, to operate where there is a foreign
body in the wound and its mouth is narrow ),
dietai^y (ahara^ light and stimulating foods), and
hygiene {raksa-vidhana^ as curative and preven-
tive). "Susruta IV. 1. 22. ; 59^ "^
^rfq^^ ^Hfer^rasiir^'f £mr|«4w^dy K^Ji-^r^T^ '2|^fw ^tw^
^ K<*4.«?fiT^ t»'^*'^ TRII^P^t !Tfe!RW' HW^i^^^RSf h1-M(M-
f^' ^?!^J:?ThR^fe!^!JWT ^^^: ^'^^^^ ^fif3* l"f^' f^^'
360 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
"After the above-mentioned treatment, if
the inflammation is found to be of a suppurative
kind, then by the application of a pustulant,
it has to be made to suppurate, then lanced
and disinfected." Susnita IV. 16. 4,''\
Etiology : Furuncle or boil is not possible
without the infection of staphylococcus pyoge-
nes aureus which is invariably found in the
pus. This gives rise to acute inflammation
and exudation, leading to necrosis of the tissue.
The infection of the staphylococcus pyogenes
aureus is favored by the impairment of the
tissue vitality, which is the natural consequence
if the blood contains toxic, irritant or effete
matters. In that case, the tissues are not only
ill-nourished, and therefore incapable to offer
natural resistance to microbic invasion, but
fFrre^^TT y<+w1yi ^^rrarrfif ??'!:f^Rn^ \
SWd^f^dl, Rlf+frHd<r«TRJ3^, \ V
156. ^mK: ۤj5k: ^^'w\ ^\mw^\ i
#?^fT ^cm^lfq fT^T^Tft? S^ftjcl^ II ^
DISEASES 361
especially when the kidney fails to eliminate
the effete and the toxic substances in the blood,
the burden falls on the skin as an eraunctory
organ. This naturally irritates the skin and
predisposes it to the infection of staphylococ-
cus which is ubiquitous causing furuncles, boils
and carbuncles. And they are usually associat-
ed with the diseases, especially ii the renal
functions have been impaired, as in chronic
dyspepsia, gout, rheumatism, scrofula, tuber-
culosis, diabetes and albuminuria. It is frequent-
ly met with in dyspepsia in which there is
insufficiency or deficiency of the pepsin and'
the trypsin, especially tlie latter, leading to
albuminous putrefaction, whose toxic products
are absorbed into the blood, and are thrown
over to the skin for elimination when the kidney
alone is not equal to the task.
Therefore special attention should be paid
to dietary and cleanliness. Fresh, healthy, whole-
some light and easily digestible food should be
taken in restricted quantity, especially of the
afbumins. All irritant foods, drinks and spices
must be avoided. Wliey or butter-milk which
by its lactic acid producing content ( lactose )
counteracts putrefaction by changing the culture
medium of the proteolytic bacteria is a verjr
362 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
preferable addition to the diet, or an exclusive
diet for a few days.
"A ^slesma* tumor which has not been reme-
died by any application, and which has not grown
in any vital organ, should be dissected, extirpa-
ted, in its premature state, the wound caute-
rized and treated as an}?- fresh wound. Susruta
IV. 18. 8^^\
"A tumor in its premature state ( that is,
it should ])e operated as early as possible )
should be excised and cauterised. Or as accord-
ing to the previous insrtuction, it should be
scratched out, aud the caustics should be applied
to the wound. ''SmrutalY, 18. 16^^^
*'ll: the neoplasm is not deep-rooted, then
with a ( wire ) of tin ( trapu ), copper, lead or
silk (cord) it should be surrounded, and carefully
157. '?!q9v^3fT7i r,?T^TJ^T(T^qW^^xrfTf^^F4 I
158. 'jTgl^ffj^jjsnT^Tiitrai^ eg =^1?^" f^^ici ^^\c\ i
DISEASES B63
the physician should use the knife, cansftc or
cautei'v, accordinf): to the strength of the patient.
SusriUa lY. 18w29^•■■«^
"If any paHfof'tlie neoplasm remaiiis and
is not completely tfiirpated, then from the
remnant the neoplasm reappears, as fire can
grow fr;>ni a small spark left-over ; therefore
all the growth ( of the neoplasm ) n^t he extir-
pated". Susruta IV. 18. 33^^^
There is no question that the complete
extirpation of either the benign or the malignant
neoplasm is tlie best remedy, wherever possible,
that is whei) they have not developed with a
deep base in any vital organ.
VII — Skin Disease. ^^
Prodromes of Leprosy : — "The thickening of
158:1. q^^^^p; ^H^R^i^-qf: ^^Tq'ej cT^TS[^^^t II
159. ritstCi^if^ 1% ^s^^if^ ^'om m^m ^h^r? i
* The writer regrets that lie lacks the clinical ex-
364* ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the skin, sudden horripilation, pruritus, liyperi-
drosis or anhydrosis, anesthesia of the skin, the
extension of ulceration if any wound takes place,
and the dark color of the blood are the prodromes
of 'KiistJia' {leyrosy )." Susruta II. 5. 2i«°.
"In the *vata* leprosy, the lepromes are
browny and slender with boring pain and anesth-
esia ; it is called ^aruna* sun-colored ^lepra flava*
In the 'pitta^ leprosy, tlie nodosities are like the
perience of skin disease, especially the tropical derma-
tosis, and the diseases of the genital organs. His
knowledge is limited to the studies of authorities on^
these subjects. And moreover as the cutaneous mani-
festations are hard to identify without the associated
symptoms, and both Charaka and Sus ruta have given
vague description of them, only those diseases will be
mentioned which have a direct bearing on the history
of syphilis in ancient India. It is very likely that
the papulo-squamous syphilide, pustulo-crustaceous
syphilide, tubercular syphilitic dactylitis, exostoses,,
osteo-periostitis, nodes, gummata and ulcerations have
been classified as leprous manifestations or varieties
of leprosy.
160. cm ^^^ c^\m*i'HM^^ri\w?i: ^'^j ^^fif^fr^^'^
■Jv>
* DISEASES 365
ripe fruit of ^Jicus glomarata* ; this is called
'audamvara* leprosy ( lepra nodosities^ rounded,
lieiiiispherica], varying in size from a pin's head
to a hazel-nut, hard and elastic to the touch,
pale-red or hrown in color, may appear from the
beginning without any antecedent patches,scatter-
ed over the body, especially on the face, forehead,
elbows, knees and legs ). In the ^rsya-jihvicC
leprosy, it ( the lepra erythematous patch ) has
the size and the roughness of antelope's tongue.
Black scales appear in 'kapdla' ( scabby leprosy :
psoriasis ). Black-red patches like those of the
fruit of *abrus precatorius' appear in *kdkanaka*
( lep7'a nigricuns^ black in the centre and reddish
at the edges as in the ^kdhanaka' fruit ). Heat,
tensive pain, hypersemia and cloudy sensation
( disturbances of the cutaneous nerves ) are felt
in these four kinds of leprosy. With microbes
bullae appear, burst and ulcerate.
'Faundarika' (nodes) are shaped like the
lotus leaves ; 'dadtm' is copper-colored or like
that of the flower of Hinum usitalloslmum'' (dark)
and the nodes continue to grow covered with
herpes. The nodes of both 'paitndarika and
dadru' are elevated, globular and pruritic and
they take a long time for their growth. These
are their general symptoms.
366 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Minor 'kiistha' : Hard, broad-based, tliick
and dry nodules develop at the joints in ^sthula-
ruhsd' ( dry leprosy ). There is contraction of
the skin ( the skin thickens by infiltration and
forms deep sulci by folding on itself ), borioo^
pain and anesthesia in 'malia-kiistha ( anesthetic
leprosy). The disease in wbicli the skin becomes
dark-brown ( bronzed ) is called 'eka-kustha
( Addison's disease ) ; tliis is incurable. In
^charmadala-kustluC ( tinea albigena ? ) there
are pruritus, tremor, tensive and burning pain
in the palms of the liands and soles of the feet.
The leprosy in which the skin, blood and the
flesh become affected, and spread over the body,
like erysipelas ( visarpa ), and which causes
swooning, burning sensation, nervousness, prick-
ing pain and ulceration, is called "visarpa-kusiha*
( cutaneous leprosy ). The leprosy i'.i which
exudative bullie repeatedly spread over the body
is called 'j^arisarpa' ( macular lepi^osy ). The
skin lesion, in wliich there is pruritic, wliitish,
painless and scattered ( tanu—thin ) eruption in
the upper part of the body, is called 'sidhma-
kustha'. The skin lesion in which very pruritic,
painful and dry patches appear over the entire
body, is called 'vlcharehika^ ; if tliis very pruritic
and painful manifestation appears only on the
DISEASES 367
foot, it is called ^mpadika' { psoriasis ). The
skin lesion which is exudative, alobular, super-
ficial, very pruritic, shiny and dark, is called
'kitima' ( acne keloid ). If exudative, pruritic,
inflammatory and tiny pustule appears over the-
entire body, it is called 'pama' ( ecsema ). If the
'pama' becomes suppurative, it is called 'kachchhu\
*pyosis tropica'*. Pruritic but non-exudative
pustules that appear over the entire body, are
called 'rakasa' ( dry eczema ). Snsruta II. 5.
1-W\
368 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
"When the microhes begin to eat up the skin
etc., various symptoms appear according to the
nature of the lesion. Due to ^vata\ ( lepromas )
become pale-white or sun-colored, rough and dry,
and there are boring pain, emaciation, piercing
pain, tremor, wrinkles of the skin, horripilation,
lassitude, paralysis, anesthesia, gangrene and
mutilations ( of extremities ). Due to *pitta^ the
following symptoms manifest, as burning
sensation, sweating, effusion, decomposition ( of
the tissues ), exudation, ulceration and bloody
color ( of the sores ). Erom 'slesmct* the following
symptoms manifest as chilliness, whiteness ( of
the macular patches ), pruritus, hardness ( of the
nodes ), heaviness, elevation ( of the nodes,
thickening and folding of the skin ), fattiness
( fatty infiltration ) and ( ulcerous ) crusts.
-sj^: ^x xi\^w\: ^^'T^: ^qT^fi ?n^ qft^^'Trf. i
^^ fs^cT ^cwqrra fn^ f^?jifT erg Tira^ ^^i§ ii
DISEASES 369
''When the microbes eat up slowly the four
( layers ) of the skin (epidermis, corium, muesum
and corneum ), vessels and nerves ( Mm ), ten-
dons and tender bones, then there are other com-
plicating leprous symptoms as exudation, gan-
grene, deformations, polj^dipsia, fever, diarrhoea
hypertiemia, debility, anorexia and indigestion,
in which it becomes incurable". Charaka II,
Leprosy is caused by Hansen's ^bacillus
lepr<2' which morphologically has a very striking
resemblance to the tubercular bacillus, but
according to Jamanito, the tubercular bacillus is
stained black by the silver nitrate method, while
the 'bacillus leprae remain transparent. However,
a large percentage of the lepers are found either
tubercular or syphilitic. And these three diseas-
es are very alike in their evolution and it is
very hard often to diagnose one from the other
; without differential diagnosis. The 'lepra bacilli*
are found in all diseased tissues, in nasal, sali-
vary, vaginal and urethral secretions, tears.
24
o
70 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Sputum, semen, macular scales, exudation
or discharges from the sores. It seems that the
lepra bacillus takes a loug period for the evolu-
tion of leprosy and incubation is very slow lasting
from 2 to 20 years. The lepra bacillus is in*
fectious, but its contagion is not of a virulent type,
as is demonstrated by the fact that usually the
attendants at the leper asylums with cleanliness
of the body, hygienic living and nutritious die-
tary, escape from this loathsome malady. On the
other hand it is undeniable that the segregation
of the lepers in Norway, Hawaii and the Philippine
Islands have shown a very promising result, in
not only arresting the spread of leprosy, but
also tending to uproot the disease entirely as it has
been done in Europe. However, the mode of its
infection is not yet known. It seems the lepra
germs find a favorable medium for growth, like
tubercular bacilli, in an organism devitalized by
malnutrition, un cleanliness and unhygienic living.
And that perhaps explains how with improved
living and hygiene, it has practically died out of
Europe. It is usually found in the East among
the poorer classes wlio suffer from chronic
malnutrition and live in unhygienic surround-
ings in the midst of iiith and misery. The
tissues therefore lack the resisting power against
DIS BIASES 37 t
the invasiou of the * lepra bacilli' though they
possess but feeble virulence.
There are three froms of leprosy : (I) Huher-
cular leprosy, ( 2 ) muculo-anestlietiG leprosy and
( 3 ) mixed leprosy. In the tubercular form,
there are repeated attacks of fever as a reaction
of the organism against the invasion of the lepra
bacilli. There may bo pruritus and hyperesthesia
of the skin with neuralgic pain in all locations.
In most cases there is a premonitory eruption
of vesicles or bullse, affecting tlie extremities
chiefly. These bullae appear rapidly, are usually
painless^ break spontaneously, and often heal as
ulcers, leaving behind a pigmented spot, brown,
black, or white. Spots gradually make thus their
appearance in various parts of the body, and the
macular eruption is more frequent as the disease
progresses. This may continue for months or
years according to tlie resisting power of tlie
organism. The small tubercles appear, grow in
size and become confluent. They may simj)]y
ulcerate, without marked destruction of tissue^
leaving small superficial ulcers, covered with
greenisli or brown crusts, destroying by degrees
the adjacent tissues, tendons, ligam.ents,
and finally the bones. If treated, they
cicatrize and produce deformities ; but if
872 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINB
neglected, they suppurate, and cause amyloidosis
or gangrene. Almost from the heginning the
senses are disturhed.
In the maculo-anesthetic or tropho-neurotic
form of' leprosy, the infiltration principally
takes place into the nerves, causing their
gradual irritation, inflammation, degeneration
and destruction. In the first inflammatory
stage, there is hyperesthesia, sensory, vaso-motor
and motor disturbances manifested by burning
numbness, formication {sensory)^ flushings of
the face, glossy skin {vaso-motor")^ twitchings of
the muscles (motor) particularly of the face,
paroxysms of neuralgic pain and cutaneous
manifestation. This is gradually succeeded
by a period of nerve degeneration, marked
clinically by anesthesia, paralysis, atrophies
and distinct trophic disturbances. "With the
anesthesia, there appears a muscle-atrophy which
first of all attacks the muscles of the liand
(causing contraction), the extensors and flexors
of the forearm, causing the charecteristic
'claw-hand''. There is loss of power, sense of
touch, of heat and cold, even of pain. The
muscles of the feet are likewise affected. There
is a variety of trophic disturbances at this stage
—shedding of the nails, loss of pigment, loss of
DISEASES 373
hair, loss of teeth, ulceration, followed by dry
gangrene, necrosis and absorption of the bone
with the resultant mutilation.
The "mixed' is really the typical form of leprosy,
combining the tubercular and tropho-neuroti'c
manifestations, and the symptoms of botli types
are present. Of course lepra bacillus is found
in all cases in all leprous lesions, whether
located in the skin, mucous membranes, nerves
or internal organs. Malnutrition, uncleanliness,
infections of tuberculosis or syphilis which are
found among a large percentage of the lepers,
not only predispose the organism to leprosy,
but also accelerate the progress of this malignant
disease and hasten death.
Treatment : — *'Eor a pious leper who wishes
to live and for whom the five methods of
treatment have not been effective, the wise
physician should treat him in the following
manner : — Ripe fruits should be collected, in
the rainy season of the HuharcC {Faraetogenos
Ktirzii:chatdmiigra) tree which grows on the
southern sea-coast ( Arahan ) and whose
branches are agitated by the wind, raised by
the ocean waves ; the kernel of the fruits is
to be taken out, dried and made ifito fragments.
And then they should be pressed in a mill like
371< ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the sesame-oil press, or the oil extracted in a
basin as with the saffron flower ( crocus sativus ).
This should be put on lire (in a kettle ) and
when all the water has been evaporated from
the oil, it ought to be taken out and placed
( in a flask ) in dried cow-dung for a fortnight.
When the patient has been fattened by the
treatment of oils, sweated by diaphoretics,
cleansed ( internally ) by purgatives and emetics,
then in a lunar auspicious evening, he should
drink the oil, consecrated with the hymn that
the essence of the kernel is the antidote of all
poisons, etc. The Huhara^ {chaulmugra) oil causes
repeated evacuations of the toxin ( of the
leprous lesion ) through the upper and lower
channels ( chaulmugra oil is very irritant,
and causes vomiting and purgation. It should
be given in a capsule, or better still, to be
effective, ethyl ester preparations of the fatty
acids of the ^cJiaulmugroj oil' can be administer-
ed intramuscularly with the hypodermic syringe
with marvellous results ). After tliis cold barlev
water should be drunk without any salt ( which
provokes vomiting ) and fat (which stimulates
peristalsis ). Thus he shall drink for five days
the oil, and for a fortnight giving up all injuri-
ous habits as anger etc., shall live on rice and
DISEASES 375
the broth of ^inudga* (phaseolus mungo, both of
them are constipative ). If thus for five days
the patient drinks the oil, he gets cured of all
kinds of leprosy. If this Hiibard ©il is cooked
together as before with three times the quantity
of the decoction of hJiadira {Mimosa f err iiginacm)
and he untiringly drinks it for a month, all
leproma become destroyed, with the inunction
and imbibition of the oil, together with proper
dietary, and hoarseness of voice, red-eyes and
ulcers eaten by bacteria are cured soon." Susruta
IV. 13. 8-91^^
163. TT^^%1!mltT ^^TfR^" f5T^%?T 1
^Ji«11^«1 ^1%?TT^ ^JT^^cT irfe^T ^TM \\
tT=ssf -q'^t ^\ q^^i (Tt^T^'^^ITfT II
f%^: %ft fcwri: ^m'^^' W'^«(i"'t '
376 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
*'If one eats the kernel of the Hiibara^ fruity
his body becomes cleansed of all impurities ; it
is very potent, and is the best medicine for
leprosy." Susruta IV. 13. lO^^S
Tubara or cliaulmugra ( TaraMogenos
kurzii), by whicli name it is better known, is
certainly the best medicine known yet in the
treatment of leprosy. A few intramuscular
injections of the etliyl esters or intravenous in-
T^fiK ir?Tf)^ v[^^^ >=rT^^ U^^ I
^#^^ra'4rf ^TS(* 4l^T3T^a1cMt ftftfT II
■ q^T^' i?!qtff ^*{^ farf^^IT ^^l I
q^wf^'^^T^ H^irtf^g=^ II e
fiTf fjfi igpj^rf ^m fq?1IT^RcI%ci: II
fvra^T T^^' f^'u" f^nf^flfl II
'H^ra ii^5f«j! m^^([ iif^^ ^^ \
164. ^t^f^ ^i qtcTT TI^H^^ *TT^?TT I
DISEASES 37T
jection of tlie salts — cliaulmoogric and h jdnocar-
pic acids, result in the destruction of the lepra
bacilli in the tissues, followed by the disappear-
ance of the nodules and healini^ of the ulcers.
The oral administration of the chaulmugra ,oil
is not so successful, for the reason that it is-
nauseating and offensive to the stomach, and
vvlien injected intramuscularly, it is extremely
painful and very slowly absorbed. Its fatty
acids — cliaulmoogric acid and hydnocarpic acid,
being solids, are unsuited for hypodermic admi-
nistration. But the ethyl esters of these acids,,
being thin fluid oils, are well suited for infection
and are well absorbed. And tliey have given
remarkable result within a short time. These
ethyl ester derivatives have been in use at the
United States Public Health Service leprosy
investigation station at Kali hi in the Hawaiian
Islands only for three years with a very limi-
ted supply of the oil, and within this short
period 110 lepers have been paroled and return
ed to their families, the disease appra-ently
arrested, if not totally cured. From the joint
report of J. T. McDonald of the leprosy inves-
tigation, and A. L. Dean, President of the
University of Hawaii, the following conclusion
may be summarized : (1) The intramuscular
578 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
injectioa of the ethyl esters of the fatty acids
■of the chauImooi;'i-a oil usually leads to rapid
improvement in the clinical symptoms of leprosy.
In many cases the lesions disappear, except for
scars and permanent injuries, and the leprosy
bacillus can no longer be demonstrated. (2)
When combined with iodine, the fattv acids of
cliaulmoogra oil and their esters give good
result, but there is no adequate experimental
proof that it causes any increase in the elfect-
-iveness of the materials used. (3) Although
conclusive evidence is not at hand, it is probable
that the oral administration of chaulmoogra oil
'derivatives is of minor importance compared
with the injections. (4) In treating leprosy, it is
important to ma,ke use of all auxiliary agencies
to build up and maintain bodily vigor. (5) It
■has been sufficiently established that the chaul-
moogi'a oil contains one or more agents which
exert a marked therapeutic action in leprosy.
"We can not as yet say the disease is cured,
•since we have no test adequate to establish such
n verdict. Whether oi' not the apparent cures
are real and permanent, it is evident that we
have a valuable agent at our disposal for the
■control of the disease.
In Burma and Assam, four varieties of
DISEASES 379
Cbaulmugra trees iSydnocarjius castancCy Hydno-
carpus anthelmiiitica in Siam where it is known
as Maikrabao tree. Gynocai^dla odoraita and
Tarahtocjenos kurm, spoken of by the Burmese
as ^kalaiv' ) are seen together, and they^ can not
be easily distinguished one from the other
without accurate botanical description. The trees,
leaves, fruits and the oils are very similar. Only
the genuine chaulmoogra Taraktogenos kurzii
lacks the double testa on the fruit of the other
varieties, and the oil derivatives of the '■Taralzto-
genos kurzii^ have the potent therapeutic value.
Others only possess it to a lesser extent.-x<
VIII. Diseases of the Genital Organs.
'^Vrddhi {oscheonms) h the vascular swelling
of the sac (scrotum) containing the testes, due
to various lesions. Pain in the bladder, groin,
testes and the penis are its prodromal symptoms.
The scrotum is distended and rough like
a bladder filled with gas, and without any
apparent cause there is pain due to the gas, in
* The vivid description of the Chaulmoogra tree is
given with illustrations in the March content of the
National Geographic Magazine, Washington, 1922, by
J. F. Rock who was sent hj the U. S. A. Department
of Agriculture to secure the seeds of Chaulmoogra.
380 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
vatavo'ddhi {emphysema may be classified under
two divisions : (1) benign, where the gas is intro-
duced into the tissues through a local wound
or wliere its source is from some distant wound
which communicates with the air-passages or
bowels ; and (2) malignant, where gas is genera-
ted in connection with bacterial fermentation.
The benign form gets well spontaneously. Eor
the malignant form, incision, drainage and
thorough disinfection are necessary).
The scrotum has the color of the ripe fruit
of *ficus glomeratcC and it ( inflammation ) grows
and suppurates rapidly, in 'pitta-vrddhi' (epidi-
dymo-orchitis^ in which the symptoms somewhat
differ according to whether the epididymis or the
testis is more affected. On the whole the symp-
toms are more severe with the latter than with
the former, though suppuration is more frequent
in epididymitis. Premonitory symptoms are
fever, headache and general malaise, followed by
tenderness and pain in the affected parts. This
disease might arise from the extension of the
chronic gonorrheal inflammatory process or
secondary manifestation of syphilis in interstitial
or gummatous forms. The patient must be
put to bed and have the scrotum raised and
supported with a pillow and ice-bag. The bowels
DISEASES 381
are to be opened with a purgative to remove
internal congestion and light liquid food should
be given as milk. After the inflammation has
subsided, hot lead-lotion dressings or hot fomen-
tations can be used advantageously to increase
the vascularity of the part, thus aiding in the
removal and absorption of the inflammatory
products. If suppuration takes place, the abscess
must be incised, drained off and the abscess
cavity disinfected. If the lesion is of syphilitic
origin, antisyphilic treatment is very beneficial ).
It is tense, slightly painful, cold and pruritic
in ^slesina-vrddhi* ( edema is common as the
scrotum being elastic and distensible, is especially
liable to be invaded by general dropsical
effusions ).
The scrotum encloses a dark tumor and has
all the symptoms of epididymo-orchitis in *rakta-
vrddhV (Jiematooele which is a tumor caused by
collection of blood in the cavity of the tunica
vaginalis. It differs from hydrocele in that it is
not transparent. It is usually associated with
some traumatism, and is accompanied by in-
flamiT'.atory symptoms. Any variety of hj^'drocele
or spermatocele may rapidly refill with blood,
after being tapped, thus forming hematocele or
by filaria. Hemorrhage also may take place into
382 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the loose tissues about the cord, forming- a tumoi\
sometimes called, diffused hematocele of the
cord. Eor treatment, the sac sliould be incised
antiseptically, the clot removed, the cavity
irrigated, and drainage established and continued
until such time as the obliteration of the sac by
igranulations has been accomplished ).
It is boggy, glistening, pruritic, slightly pain-
ful and looks like the fruit of the palmyra tree
( Borassus flabelliformis ) in 'medo-vrddho
( elephantiasis, the Scrotum is a favorite seat
of this affection. The growth is slow, j)ainless
and progressive and may reach the weight of
150 pounds or more, and is caused by the block-
ing of the afferent lymph ducts by the adult
worms and the eggs of Eilaria bancrofti. The
disease is confined to high temperature region
and the e2:.';' of the Eikiria bancrofti is introduced
into the body by tlie bite of the mosquito,
belonging to different species which are known to
be its carrier as Culex fatigans, Mansonia unifor-
mis, Mansonia pseudotitillans, Pyretophorus
costalis, Myzomia rossii, Myzorhynchus nigerri-
mus, Cellia albimana. The only effective treat-
ment of the disease is operative removal which
is vei'y ea^y and successful, if special attention
is paid to antisepsis, so that there can be no
DISEASES 383-
septic absorption from the stump. To keep the
skin clean and aseptic, and to choose the parts
of the skin as flaps are rather important factors
of a successful operation. The pedicle is clamped
and the scrotal tissue removed, care being taken
to leave the testicles and penis and ligaturing,
the vessels as they are exposed. The exposed
testicles become covered by granulation and
cicatrization ).
Due to the retention of urine, the scrotum-
palpitates like a leather-bag filled with water ;
it is boggy and in this disease, there are stran-
gury, pain in the testes and edema of the
scrotum ; it is called. ^mTUra-vrddhi'' [urinary
extravasation or hydrocele^ possibly the latter.
Urinary extravasation invades the scrotal
tissues, causing a tumefaction as in simple edema
{slesma-vrddhi hydrosscheocele). The urine
however excites greater irritation than serous
effusion, and consequently the scrotal tissues
speedily become infiltrated by inflammatory
exudates. If it be not relieved with a puncture-
needle, trocar or incisiou, it usnally results in
abscess formation. Vaginal hydrocele on tlie
other hand, consists of a collection of fluid,
more or less serous, in the cavity of the tunica
vaginalis. Perhaps by 'slesma-vrddhi' (osche-
384 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
dema) hydrocele was meant. But according
to the tradition, *mJltra-vrddhV is taken for
hydrocele. The etiology of vaginal hydrocele
is yet obscure. In the tertiary st'age of syphilis,
there is diffuse gummatous infiltration or the
formation of localized gumma in the testes
accompanied usually by a small hydrocele. In
infancy the hydrocele is generally connected
with gastro-intestinal fermentation ; in childhood
and early adult life, it is very often associated
with some abnormal condition of the testicle or
spermatic cord ; later in life it is perhaps
concerned with the vascular changes that take
place with the degenerative involution of the
testes]. "Susrufa II. 12. 2-5'
«5
cTi^ *TR^cTkt ^^qif<ij ^ra^'.w ^^%^^ %nT ^r^tTf^^i: wf^-
■^^^]Wi^Tc[ ii «
'i^ra^i' qfw ^ff.?i^^^5^r cn^cR^sprait ^fi^f^Tj ^^j^t^'u^^^
DISEASES 385
Treatment : '''In ^vata-vrddhi' (emphysema)
apply soothing salve and emplasterum {anila-
pakana - veliei of 'va?/u^ = soothing) ; in case it
is of a suppurative type (malignant emphysema),
use a pustulant and after it has suppurated,
incise (and drain) it without hurting the raphe,
and treat it according to the prescribed rules
in these cases.
In ^pitta-vrddhi' ( epidldymo-orcliitis ), the
treatment of aneurism is beneficial ; if it
suppurates, incise it and disinfect it with (antisep7
tic ) ointment ( hsaudra-sarpi = honied fat )
and then apply vulnerary oil and mucilaginous
paste.
In 'rahta-vrddhV {hematocele)^ a,pply leeches
for withdrawal of blood, or give as a sedative
(diuretic) honey and sugar ; in suppurative or
nonsuppurative form, hematocele should be
attended to.
In 'slesma-vvddhi* (hydroscheocele or vaginal
hydrocele), apply emplasterum of calorific
substances as (cow) dung and urine, drink the
infusion of Circuma aromatica (or pinus longi-
folia) mixed with urine ; except compression,
all other treatments of 'slesma-granthV are
beneficial. If it suppurates, incise it, and as a
tulnerary of the wound, the restorative oil
25
386 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
concocted with Tritico estivo, Semicarpo
anacardia, Alangio hexapetalo and Echite
scholari, should be applied.
In ^medovrcldhi' (elephantiasis), use an
emplasterum of a gum-resinous substance as^
myrrha or any other sedative, warmed with
cow*s urine to soften the scrotum, and when
it is done, it should be bandaged (as antisepsis).
Then with encouraging words to the patient,
it should be incised with a leaf-shaped instrument,
sparing the testes and the raphe, and all the
fats removed (Filaria bancrofti and the larva
which block the lymph-channels and cause the
inflammation of the scrotal tissue), then green
vitriol ( /:asi."s^(3^ = sulphate of iron ) and rock salt
( as disinfectant ) should be applied and the
wound sutured properly. As vulnerary, oil
cooked with arsenic disulphide, arsenic sulphide,
sodium chloride and semicarpus anacarda is
to be applied.
In *mutra-v7'ddhi* ( u?Hnaiy extravasation or
vaginal hydrocele ), fomentation should be
applied to the scrotum (to make it tense ) and
then have it bandaged ( as antisepsis ). By
the raphe downward, an instrument like the
sharp point of a grain ( trocar ) should be intro-
duced, and therebv a double-barrelled cannula
DISEASES 387
( through the one cannula air is passed to cause
pressure so that through the other tlie fluid
content may he completely drained off ), the
urine ( fluid ) is evacuated. Then the cannula
is to be withdrawn and ligature applied. If the
wound remains clean (non-suppurated or granu-
lated ), the vulnerary is to be applied. (The
only difference^ in the modern method of tapping
in hydrocele, is that after the fluid is evacuated,
the cannula is not withdrawn usually, but a
svrinsre which fits it. is filled with half a drachm
of a solution of ten parts of carbolic acid to one
of glycerine, and is injected into the cavity.
This causes but slight pain. However the sac
refills partially due to the inflammatory reaction
caused by the carbolic acid, but the inflammatory
exudate is gradually reabsorbed after the inflam-
matory process giving rise to it has subsided.
However, tapping is but a palliative measure.
It has to be done once or twice a year. But
perhaps because it causes so little inconvenience
and discomfort, it is preferred to operation by
excision of a portion of the sac especially in old
hydroceles with thickened walls due to sclerous
and calcerous changes in the subserous tissues,
which gives a more satisfactory result. However,
whether in tapping or in operation, care has to
388 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
be taken to avoid wounding the testes or scrotal
vessels). Susruta IV. 19. 3-8^®®.
166. ^ir^piift ii^iw iTt¥t^f*T^N¥i^, II
fqTl^r*2iSi«t liQjkT^ ^ =^ ^^^ II a.
ft^raTT?^ ^rf^ ?^^i>2Ri^ f%fT: ii
t^rai^t^ qf 1 ^irrgra ?j 'Tpr^iT i
T%H iRt f ^1^ ft^Cf^'tJ ^I'C^ II
DISEASES 389
"Carriage of a heavy burden, wrestling with
a strong man, fall from a tree — all these strain*
increase 'vayu' wliich enlarges the viscera and
which in its downward course makes a tumor-
like formation in the groin ( inguinal hernia ).
If it be not attended to, it descends to the
scrotum ( osceocele ) and causes the inflammation
of the testes. This causes the distension of the
scrotum like that of the bladder, and if it be
pressed, gas ascends with noise, but descends
again when left. This is called 'antra-vrddW
(inguinal hernia). It is an incurable disease.
''Susmta II. 12. 6''\
*'The hernia that has reached the groin, to
^%fWf!?T'. iifi^: sil'^ *T^f?T ^s?^»T^f%tv€;i ^^^nr, f^^rg ^''^m-
390 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
obstruct its passage, should be cauterized by a
semilunar-shaped cautery. Susruta IV. 19. 10' *%
Hernia is the protrusion of the abdominal
viscera through weak spots in the abdominal
wall, which develop either due to congenital
deficieney of muscular or tendonous development
or due to their degenerative changes. It is met
with in two extremes of life. In infancv when
the inguinal rings are as yet imperfectly formed,
uncontrolled crying, coughing or any other form
of severe strain may subject the tissues to give
way. In old age tissues begin to degenerate,
while the weight of the viscera is heavier, and
under severe straining as in asthmatic paroxysm,
the vver.k spots in the parietes are easily apt to
yield.
"If the prepuce has been forcibly drawn
back ( over the glans, and its return ia prevented
by the arrest of the narrow opening behind the
corona), during coitus with narrow vagina, mastur-
bation, accident, play or detumescence, it is called
*avapdtika^ ( pai^aphimosis ; if this condition is
left unrelieved, the circulation in the parts
beyond may be interfered with sufficiently to
168. fiw m "^j-w^i cit ^t^'^^irar i
DISEASES 391
make them swell, as to render retraction very
•difficult even when the preputual orifice is not
very tight ).
In *niruddha-prakasa'' {phimosis) the prepuce
adheres to the glans penis, and therefore also
contracts the meatus. But if it be not complete,
the urine flows drop by drop with pain, ballooning
the prepuce but without rupturing the glans
penis. ( The best remedy of phimosis is circum-
cision with lateral incision as the dilatation of
the preputial opening by any method is only a
half measure, involving as much pain as cutting
or operating. Phimosis should be corrected as
early as possible, as the abdominal pressure
exerted in the straining to evacuate the urine
and in the crying whicli often accompanies the
effort in such children, is sufficient to prevent
the firm closure of the natural hernial openings
and to cause yielding of those which have
already closed. Another consequence of the
mechanical obstruction is the obstacle which it
offers to cleanliness, resulting in a balano-posthitis
induced by the retention of the smegma which
■consists of the secretion of the glands of the
lining membrane of the prepuce together with
the dead epithelial cells from those surfaces, the
decompositiou of which is hastened by the
392' ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
admixture of urine. This inflammation react&
on the nervous system and causes its irritability
which is expressed in the peevishness of the
child, and urinary disturbances such as frequent
micturition, involuntary micturition especially
at night, and spasmodic and painful micturition.
The acrid and irritable decomposition product
also provokes pi-i.apism in children and for the
relief of this they learn and gradually habituate
themselves to the pernicious practice of mastur-
bation. In the adult the sexual erethism causes
self-abu5*e, veuery, spermatorrhea, premature
ejaculation, backache and their various reactions.
Circumcision is a great hygienic measure, especi-
ally in a tropical country ). Susruta II. 13.
169. ^^1??:^ ^\ i^Tfivir T^cT^ f^' ^: i
DISEASES 39
3
"Application of 'suka' for the enlargement of
the penis, causes eighteen kinds of diseases.
Siwmta II. 11 2^-".
Traditionally *mJca' is taken as a pruritic
water insect and used externally as an aphro-
disiac. As 'sTtka^ is used in the plural, it i»
possible that it includes some species of the
insects, belonging to the *Coleoptera' order as
*Lytta or Cantharus corulea' (blue blistering
fly of Bengal ) or 'Lytia nepaleuvsis' ( Nepal
blistering fly, a black species liaving filiform
attense and elytra broadened toward the apex ),
having its active irritating principle 'cantJiaridm^
and which is used as an aphrodisiac. When
dried powder or its active principle is applied
to the skin, it causes burning sensation and
hyperemia, to which in the course of a few hours^
succeeds the formation of vesicles. If the appli-
cation is continued, it forms a blister, and if it
goes on like that for a long time, sloughing and
ulcerating result. If it is applied to the penis,
it causes a voluminous swelling and engorgement
of corpus cavernosum, and violent erection.
39i ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
**Due to the undue application of 'sTiJca\ vesicl-
es develop like the mustard seed, and are called
'sarsapika' (canthai^idal vesicles).
Due to the application of poisonous ^sTika\ a
stone-hard unsymmetrical tumor develops which
is called *asthilika\ osteoma or chondroma
of the penis : ossification and calcification of the
penis have been reported in many cases. The
parts involved are the sheaths of the corpora
cavernosa and the septum pectiniform. Ossifica-
tion which is partial takes place usually in the
plates very insiduously and without pain, and
the patient first hecomes aware of its existence
by the impediment it offers to coitus or the
•curvature which it causes to the organ. Tuffier
reports a case in which he found a bean-sized
<;hondroma growing on the external surface of
one of the corpora cavernosa, near the middle of
the organ and which he removed by operation).
If the penis is repeatedly engorged by the
"mha*, the vesicles that are developed like
neoplasm, are called *grathita' {soft vegetations
of succulent warts of the mucous membranes
and muco-cutaneous junctions, especially found
in the coronal sulcus and near frenura).
Darkish vegetation that develops like the
«eed of ^Bugen(B jambu' .'is called 'kumbhiJca
DISEASES 395
( corneous vegetations, consisting of brown or
dirty-brown, sessile, roundfed growths, quite firm
in structure, growing in the penis, scrotum,
crural fields and anus in the male, on the
labia majora, perineum and anus in woman).
Ophthalmia ( alaj'l ) is similar to that of
gonorrhea ( prameha ; it is probable that by
alaji is here either meant the gonorrheal con-
junctivitis of the eye, or syphilitic gumma of
the conjuctiva or sclera or parenchymatous
keratitis).
If tlu'ough derangement of ^myiC the penis
is pressed and beaten ( lacking the power of
erection and is pendulous ) and on it appears
vesicles with edema, it is called ^mrdita'
{syphilitic edema of the penis').
The vesicles that develop, in masturbation,
are called sammicdha ( herpes progenitalis which
is very pruritic appears about the glaas and the
foreskin, accompanied with a little moisture.
When the parts are inspected in the early stages,
small pin-head vesicles will be seen at the edge
of the foreskin, in the neicjliborhood of the corona
•or near the meatus. When the vesicles have
broken, they leave superficial erosions surround-
ed by minute circular or crescentric areola).
Numerous elongated growths appear, breaking
396 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
in tlie middle, causing pain, and horripilation^
and are c?d\ed'avamanlha' ( hoimsofpenk, wliicH
are usually dark-brown or green in color, in
texture resembling the nails, but rough on the
surface, arising from the coronal sulcus, especi-
ally near the freuum, and may attain a length
of three inches. They possibly are papilloma-
tous growths, and when protected from the air,
remain moist, soft and pinkish, and when exposed
become dry, hard and dark brow n is h in color.
On removal, usually a wart is found at their
bases, and they are found in persons of careless
habits and advanced life).
Due to the ( corruption of ) 'hlood and pitta^
the sore that develops in the shape of the petal
of lotus, surrounded by pustules, is called
^pushariha' {chanc7'oid : it is very hard sometimes to
distinguish from syphilitic initial lesion-chancre
and the pyogenic ulcer-chancroid. Chancroid
is contagious, its secretions being always auto-
inoculable, but it is essentially a local lesion, in
contradistinction to chancre which is an expres-
sion of syphilitic constitutional affection. Chan-
croid is due to Ducrey*s streptobacillus and does
not usually appear single, is not sharply circum-
scribed and is not indurated like the syphilitic
sore. The ulcer is surrounded by minute pustules
DISEASES 397
on the rugged edge, which is slightly inflamed,
and i'roTu which if pressed, appears a thin
brownish pus, for the streptobacillus is pyogenic,
while the spirochete pallida is not. Differential
diagnosis is very important before treatment is
given, for if the chancroid is treated with mer-
cury or iodoform ointment, it may sf^rioUvsly
complicate the case, wliile with thorough cleans-
ing and antisepsis, it can be easily cured ).
If due to the lesion of *suka\ the ( corrupt )
blood causes anesthesia, it is called 'sparsahani*
{syphilitic anesthesia of the penis and impotence).
Due to the indigestion, caused by *suka*
( taken internally as an aphrodisiac ), Hhe blood
and pitta* become deran^^ed, and the growths
that appear thereby like Phaseolus mungo and
Phaseolus radiatum are called ^uttama' ( milia,
resembling millet seeds, usually benign growths,
are not infrequently found in the cutaneous
inyestment of the penis ).
If due to the (corruption of) 'vayu and blood\
the penis is covered with perforating tissues like
a sieve, it is called 'sata-ponahcC ( tuberculosis
of penis occurs in two forms. The majority of
cases are examples of chronic tuberculous ulcera-
tion of the skin or the mucous membrane, the
ulcers having the same irregular worm-eaten
398 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
shape, blue undermined edges and slowly slough-
ing 01* granulating cases. The other form
which is rarer, appears to begin in the depth of
the erectile tissue, producing a necrotic mass,,
closely resembling the tabei-culoiis sequestra seen
in a spongy bone. The latter form is perhaps
indicated by 'mta-ponaka').
If due to * pitta and hlood\ the skin of the
penis ulcerates, with burning and fever, it is
called 'toak'paka'' ( erysipelas or cantharidal
nlce?'ation, due to its excessive and concentrated
application ).
The dark, blood-tumor covered with very
pruritic vesicles, is called sonitm^vvuda' {angioma :
though angima is more frequent than other
benign tumors, it does not attack the penis so
commonly as the female organs of generation.
Angioma is generally seen in children, forming
a superficial flat tumor, giving rarely any
symptoms, unless a considerable part of the
organ is involved and in that case troublesome
priapism has been observed.
Due to the lesion of the tissues, develops
a neoplasm, called 'mamsa7'vuda' ( epithelioma or
cancer of the j^jewis : cancer almost invariably
originates ontlie prepuce, glansor both combined
and is a disease of advanced life. The most
DISEASES 399
common mode of origin of epitbelioma of the
penis is in warty growths, which may promptly
or after the lapse of months or years, degenerate
into a malignant type. The etiology of the disease
is obscure. Beside the unknown factor —
tissue susceptibility, chronic irritation caused by
phimosis, balanitis, venereal ulcer, especially
a chronic ulcer of syphilitic origin seems to
be the chief cause of cancer of the penis. It
may be grafted from the cancer of the uterus
where it is commoner than in man. durinof
coitus. If the diagnosis is correct, amputation
or extirpation according to the severity of the
lesion, is the only safe remedy. For in many
cases, destruction of tissue is marked as well as
growth, and the malignant growth consists of
an ulcer which may be very deep in the center
with greatly thickened and indurated borders,
the induration preceding the spread of the ulcer
on all sides, and often the urethra is perforated
so that the urine can only pass through the
soft sloughing tissues, thus producing extensive
ulceration ).
When ulceration takes place ( of the epithe-
lioma ), it is called malignant ^mamsa-pakcC
( ulceration of the cancer ).
All the symptoms of complicated tumor,.
400 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
mentioned before ( Smnita II. 9 ) are the same
in the case of the ^mdradJii' ( sarcoma of the
penis, like the sarcoma of the other parts of the
body, may be found at any time of life from
childhood to old age, and is chiefly found in the
tissues of the corpora cavernosa, running a
rapid and insidious course, forming a tumor
without any painful sensation, but enlarging and
distorting the penis. If the tumor is extirpated,
there is always great danger of the return of
the morbid process ).
If the poisonous black or multicolored ^mha'
is used, then the tissues ulcerate with dark
pigmentation and fall off ; this disease originates
from the ( corruption ) of the three humors and
is called Hila-kalaka' {gangrene \ Gangrene of
the penis is observed in young, but more
commonly in elderly, subjects. In some cases
balanitis, phimosis, paraphimosis, chancre, or
chancroid has been, the starting point. Cases
have been reported in which gangrene of the
penis was said to be due to ingestion of ergot
and cantharides). ^^
(Of these diseases), epithelioma {mamsarcvuda),
ulceration of the cancer ( mamsa-paica ), sarcoma
* R. W. Taylor : Genito-urinary and Venereal
Diseases, p. 270.
DISEASES 401
( mdradhi ) and gangrene ( tilakalaka ) of the
penis are incurable." Susrata II. 14. 3-32^ ^\
"Masturbation, manipulation or traumatism
of the penis causes the derangement of the
*vayu\ which corrupts the ( mucous membrane
of ) prepuce and causes intumescence, of the
glans ; it is called 'parl-vartikd' ( balanitis )
and being of 'vayu' and infectious origin, it is
171 3fi?:g^'qg?sir g ^^^Hiifg^ i
H^^' ^\?sc[' 5icT. g ^\^' ^\^^^^c^'. ii c
qrf'wf w^'gXf ^"^^^^T vi^fT II ,t
^^T ^¥T^ ^f^ ^^^5^ ^^c\^ m: I
€is^?T'^: ^qn^wjt ts^Ktfl'?^ §kt ii i^
5pT^^^iTFr5g slim' ^^^^ftcr^r ii ^i
'Sr-rm^T g f^'^^TT ^^mH f^?^Tl3lT II ^3
^ra^f'UcT^ KTTt^r^^if: sic^Ti^^if: h ^g
^6
402 AKCIENT HINDr MEDICINE
painful, causes burning and occasionally
suppurates. If it originates from *slesmci\ it
is bard and pruritic ( papilloma or any otber
vegetation/' Susnita II. 13. 89^"-.
fqrir^iatim ^^f^^JWt ^^l^H II ^a,
ii'iirefiti:: ^^^f?i: f^Tf^Tm '^f^<\■^^ i
172. JTf^^rcT qi^^r^TR cfl^rsjfimTfm: i
^^^ *r?T ^15^51% ^^rra^: ii
TT'^r^^'^n^ ^i't^i^ ^F'^i^^ ^"^^ II
^?^^: ^.^T?=i qr^^ ^^ sfiH«^ I
DISEASES 403
Balanitis is the inflammation of the mucous
membrane of the glans, or of the prepuce
(posthitis), or to both conditions combined. The
two surffices are generally attacked simultane-
ously, except in chronic processes which are
limited to small areas. The predisposing cause
to inflammation ol these parts is the diinculty
or impossibility of cleansing them, especially
when tiie foreskin is long and narrow. The
active cause may be the retained pus or irritat-
ing substances of gonorrhea, chancroid, secretions
of primary or secondary syphilitic lesions, or the
decomposition of the accumulated smegma mixed
with urine and perhaps leucorrheal discharge
added to it in coitus. The existence ofvei?eta-
tions under tlie prepuce provokes balanitis
especially when the lodgment of the gonorrheal
pus excites the inflammation. Balanitis may
occur also in diabetic patients, on account of
the ready decomposition of their sugar-laden
urine, and a certain fungus, for it is found in
the smegma under the prepuce. The treatment
of balanitis consists chiefly in the establishment
of cleanliness, and if the prepi*ce can be retract-
ed, this will usually suffice to cure. Parts may
be washed with warm water of mild boric acid
solution, but strong antiseptics are not desirable
404* ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
as before they can exert their germicidal effect,
they are apt to provoke further irritation of
already inflamed surfaces and cause the necrosis
of the delicate cells, thus postponing, their recu-
perative power.
"Excess in coitus ( simple urethritis rnay be
provoked, especially in gouty diathesis ), contin-
ence ( herpes progentitalis and reflex nervous
irritability ), coitus Tvith a nun or one who has
had no sexual intercourse for a long time
{ urethritis if the vagina is not kept clean ), with
a menstruating woman ( menstrual blood has
been regarded as an etiological factor of
urethritis from remote antiquity in diverse
lands. The menstrual fluid, unless decomposed
or mixed with the products of bacterial evolution
of one .kind or another, whether the germs be
autogenetic or heterogenetic, is inconsequential —
can nob possibly produce urethritis. Apparent
contradictions are due to the autogenesis of
urethritis in a previously damaged urethra, or to
the washing down of the products of an old
infection from the upper portion of the female
sexual tract by^ the out-flowing menstrual
secretion ) or coitus with a woman whose vulva
is long-haired, coarse-haired, thick-haired or
there is hair in the vulvar orifice(abrasions, excoria-
DISEASES 405
tions, fissure or fine cuts made by sharp edges of the
hair at certain angles by the copulative paroxysm-
al movements when the genital organs are in
intumescent state, are the necessary and favor-
iible conditions for the venereal germs when
deposited there, to grow and multiply. Chan-
croidal, syphilitic or gonorrheal germs can not
cause a lesion unless they can find a lodgment
and form a colony, otherwise they will be wash-
ed away by the mucous and the urinal discharges.
It is only when there is an abrasion, cut, wound,
tear, rent or solution of any kind of the mucous
membrane, that they can find an entrance, and
in the delicate epithelium, with its warmth and
moisture, they find it very favorable to multiply
to destroy the cells, and invade the economy in
syphilis ), with a woman of narrow or large
vulvar orifice ( strain and injuries may be caused
by narrow orifice and a flabby large vaginal
passage is indicative of some disease or the reac-
tion of the diseased condition of the genitals, as
otherwise in the normal state there should be
vs^inal muscular contraction by the sexual
stimuli and the passage of tli^ penis ), with an
unpleasant or repulsive woman ( venereal diseas-
es, especially syphilis causes many disfigurements
of the body), with a woman who makes lavation
406 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
oi: lier vaafina with contaminated water, or one
who does not make any lavation of her vagina
at all, or a woman who has a genital disease, or
who has a chronic lesion in lier genitals, or nnna-
tnral intercourse ( sodomy does not necessarily
cause anv lesion unless there is an infection in
either party, or venery ; excess might cause
ene.vation and its reflex reactions on the orga-
nism, thus predisposing to any infection ),
injury to the penis by nails, teeth, toxic cantha-
rides, compression, masturbation or bestiality
( no infection can take place unless there is ,
contact with some venereal pathogenic virus,
except it might cause local injuries and pyogenic
infection ), ablution of the penis with contami-
nfited water, or its strangulation, or retention
of urine or semen, or non-lavation ( uncleansing)
of the penis after coitus — all these causes produce
the derangement of the 'vaim\ and provoke
the inflammation of tlie penis, whether it has
been wounded or not ; this is called *upadamsa\
There are five kinds of 'upadamsa, eacli
infection oriariuf^tinsr from five different kinds of
contagions of women.
Scaliness (roughness), ulperation of the skin,
torpor of the penis and inflammation with in-
duration takes place in 'vata'Upaclamsa\sf/phUiHc*
DISEASES 4)07
ehaucre : The initial lesion is first seen as a
papule, varying in size from a pea to a bean,
pinkish-brown in color, dry and scaling, impart-
ing a slight resistance to the touch, which
appears after an incubation of two to four weeks
in syphilis, three to seven days in cliancroid
(which is of diagnostic value in distinguishing
chancre frem chancroid) after suspicious coitus
or contact, and wh.icli slowly ulcerates with
slightly inflamed and indurated, circumscribed
or oval edges, leaving a superficial or eroded
depression, haviilg a thin serous or sero-purulent
secretion, or it may be covered with a thin
grayish pellicle).
Fever (as a reaction of the organism against
the invasion of syphilitic ^Spu'ocheta pallida*)
and intumescence like the color of *Flcus
glomerata* (which is pinkish-brown, the color of
chancre) develop, and which rapidly ulcerates
with *pitta* pain in 'piita-ttpadaiiisa* (Ulcerating
chancre).
Intumescence is pruritic, hard and shiny
with slight {slesma) pain, in slemsa-iipadmsa)
(chancre in the first stage).
A dark tumor which bleeds excessively with
fever, burning, and emaciation with all 'pitta*
symptoms, and which sometimes (spontaneously)
408 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
cures, is called 'rakta ujjadamsa' (angioma of
the penis on a large artery).
The intumescence ulcerates with the develop-
ment of germs, which might bring about death,
with all the symptoms of the corruption of the
three humors in ^sarcva-upadamsa* (syphilitic
sore)." SnsnUa II. 12, 7-13 ^'\
*'The contagion (syphilitic ' Spirocheta pallida*)
infecting the tissues and the blood, causes their
173. cT^rrcTfTg^T^wa^^^t^r crgr Wai^^^f f^ftfi^^ <^*^^\
^^^r ^aj^?^t ^^^''ctflt f*i^^*TTfi'?T^Kt *r?rfKmfjraT*i^rmi-
-=iici5<^«ii: II «;i
DISEASES 409>
pruritis ; from pruritis develops sore ; in
the sore malisrnant nodules are formed^
enveloped in a film-like membrane, and from it
exudates a viscous serous fluid (when the syphi-
litic process dips down into the subcutaneous-
tissue, and is complicated with indurating edema,
the chancrous erosion becomes covered with
Hndarated nodules\ while if the sore remains-
superficial and compact, the induration is spread
out into a disk-like mass and is called parchment^
like chanC7'e. Parchment-like chancres are mostly
found on the integument of the penis and some*
times on the vulva. ^Indurated chancres' are
mostly found in the sulcus coronarius, parti-
cularly near the frenum. When, owing to-
excessive cell-increase, the chancrous erosion
becomes salient above the level of the parts, it
is called 'idctts elevatum\ Ulcus elevatum be-
comes covered with a film -like membrane^
bavins: a color which is a mixture of cream,
with a light-green tint which degenerates into
brownish black, if the membrane is not shod
and exists for a long period. But if an antiseptic
or iodoform is used, it melts away, leaving an
erosive chancrous surface. This is known as
*chancre with the cream and the green-colored
membrane). This (chancrous nodule) kills
4j10 ancient HINDU MEDICINE
virilit}^ and destroys the penis (phagedenio
chancre) ; the lesion infecting the vulva of
woman produces soft, foul-smelling, umbrella-
like (circumscribed) nodular chancre from which
a viscid serous fluid exudates; and this contagion
ascending upward, produces gummata in tlie
ear, eye, nose and throat. Tlie gummata of the
ear cause deafness, otalgia and suppuration ot*
the ear (gumma of the auricle leads at times to
deep ulceration and destruction of cartilage ;
gummata on the membrane tympani occasionally
cause the destruction of tlie membrane with
ulceration ; condylomata of the meatus causes
severe pain with tension and fullness and deaf-
ness may be produced merely by the mechanical
closure of the meatus, but the drum membrane
occasionally becomes inflamed and may
suppurate. Suppurative inflammation (Otitis
media suppurativa) occurs in syphilitic subjects
as the direct result of the syphilitic manifesta-
tions in the naso-pharynx, and also from other
causes, but the syphilitic dyscrasia is a serious
complication). Iti the (gummatous syphilitic)
affection of the eye there is obstruction of the
palpabra (Tarsitis syphilitica = gummatous infil-
tration of the tarsus ; ulcerated syphilitic
mucous patches on the free margin of
DISExVSES 411
the lower eyelid is commoner ), ofthalmagifc*.,
lippltiide ( ill Iritis gummosa, the exudation
is gelatinous, m.ade up of fine filaments
wbicli may be absorbed witbout alterations
in appearance or may be changed into a bluish-
white homogenous mass ), and blindness ( ambly-
opia = partial loss of vision, amaurosis = complete
loss of vision in syphilis of the optic nerve, which
is marked by visible ■ changes in the papilla
through : ( 1 ) choked disk or papillitis as a
symptom of various intracranial processes ;
( 2 ) neuro-retinitis descendens, accompanying
the various changes in the bnxin and its menin-
s:es wliicli have extended alonar the sheath of tlie
optic nerve, or due to gumma ; ( 3 ) atrophy
of the optic nerve may take place either as a
result of choked disk, neuritis descendens or
inflammatory degeneration ). Nasal (syphilitic)
affection causes catarrh ( the pituary membrane
Vnay be the seat of eiytheraa, superficial ulcera-
tions and mucous patches which give rise to
symptoms of ordinary catarrh ), excessive sneez-
ing ( as a reflex excited by the irritation of the
nasal mucous membrane by syphilitic erythema,
mucous patches, condylomata, gumraata or
ulcerations ), dyspnea ( difSculty in breathing
results from mechanical obstruction, caused
412 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
by the swollen folds or in the development of
adenoids stopping up the nasal passages as may
be seen in congenital syphilis ), ulcer of the
septum ( if a gumma on the septum breaks down
and ulcerates, plugs or casts of inspissated
mucous, mixed with blood and pus of a very
disagreeable appearance and an almost into-
lerable odor are discharged, especially if the
necrosis of the bone has occurred. Should the
lesion involve the vomer extensivelv, character-
istically syphilitic flattening of the nose may be
produced by the falling in of the bridge. The
sense of smell is impaired by the failure of the
odorous particles to reach the olfactory tract,
owing to the obstruction of crusts and plugs of
putrefying inspissated mucous ), nasal voice-
( owing to the obstruction of the eustachian tube
and nasal passages by swollen folds, gummata or
condylomata ) and headache ( syphilitic neural-
gia, the headaches being due to the lesion of the
meninges which are supplied by the ramification
of the trigeminal nerve : it is a very character-
istic symptom of syphilis ). Affections in the
pharynx, larynx and palate, cause hoarseness of
voice ( huskiness of the voice is found in the
syphilitic erythema of the larynx, and the pho-
nation is interfered with, ranging from slight
DISEASES 413
hoarseness to complete aphonia according to the
extent of ulceration ), ageusia ( loss of taste
-occurs with the ulceration and destruction of
the gustatory nerve or the nerve endings on the
tongue ), and the ulceration of buccal cavity
( mucous patches, gummata, etc. )". Susruta
II. 2. 15 ''\
"In 'udavarta' ( dysmenorrhea ) foamy (mens-
trual) blood is discharged with colicky spasm
{colicky dysmenorrhea results from the attempt of
the uterus to expel foreign bodies as squamous
pellicles, epithelial cells, blood clots, mucous
membrane and exudations, originating either
from neoplasms or inflammation, which is pre-
vented from freely flowing out with the menstrual
414) ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
blootl, by some obstruction as a tamor of the
cervix or an atresia, caused by inflammation,
following clnld-liirtli). 'Nasfartava*{ovi\viRn lesion)
causes sterility. In *vipluta' ( hysterahjia ), tlie
( female ) genital region is always painful. In
*paripluta'' ( dyspareimia ), coitus is very painful
(coitus may be painful to a woman due to (1) va-
ginismus ; (2) tender carunculoe myrtiforraes, or
soreness from the laceration of the hymen in
a newly married woman ; ( 3 ) iuflammation of
the vagina or the vulva ; ( 4 ) disproportion in
size of the penis and the vaginal orifice, especi-
ally osteum vaginre ; ( 5 ) prolapsed ovaries or
iiterus ; ( 6 ) pelvic peritonitis, even in multi-
parous women ). In ^vataW {vaginitis dissecans,
in vvliich the vaginal mucous membrane becomes
dry in most instances and the superficial squa-
mous epitlielium undergoes ^cornijication^ and
if the venereal vaginitis persists, a formation of
'acuminated condylomata' may take place in the
vagina). In 7'ahta.hsarct {infiammatory idceration
of the internal genital organs ), tlie menstrua-
tion flows with burning sensation ( burning
sensation is felt as the blood flows over the
inflammatory ulcerated surfaces, due generally
to gonorrhea or syphilis). In 'vamint {carcinoma
uteri ) sanious mucous discharge appears
DISEASES 415
"with gas ( leucorrliea or flour albus, a wliitish
discharge of a more or less viscid fluid,
mucous or pus cells, is due to, ^chronic cei'vlcitu^
and known by another name 'sveta-p^'adarci').
Ivt. prasramsln't {colpitis emphysematosa) the
vagina is tremulous and tumorous ( colpitis
emphysematosa is distinguished by small-celled
in ^^iltration and hyperemia in the vicinity of
numerous bubbles in and beneath the epithelium
of the vaginal mucosa, formed perhaps by a
I
gas-forming anaerobic bacterium ). In 'piitra gli-
nt {endometritis) ^ though there are conceptions,,
abortion takes place with hemorrhage (recurrent
abortion is usually either syphilitic in origin, or
due to endometritis from any cause or retroflex-
ion of the uterus). In 'jnttalcl' {gonorrheal
acute salpangitis) there are intense burning
pain, suppuration and fever (gonorrheal inflam-
mation and the degenerative changes of the
oviducts — salpingitis, is responsible for the fre-
quent cases in which pregnancy, happening
shortly after marriage, terminates by an abortion
or so called * one- child- strerilit if). In 'ati/ananda'
{senile vaginitis) coitus is not enjoyed ( due to
gonorrheal degenerative changes, the .mucosa,
especially in the upper part of the canal, sheds
its epithelium in patches, becomes here and there-
416 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
studded with papillary granulations, shows a
tendency to cicatrical contractions, and during
coitus turgesceuce and voluptuous sensations are
missing ). In karnin'i {neoplasms)^ due to 'slesma
and the blood' growths are formed ( in vagina
myomata, fibromata, Sf^rcomata, carcinomata,
and cystomata are seen ; in the uterus
diffuse adenomata, polypoid adenomata,
fibromaca, fibroid polypuses, carcomata and car-
cinomata are more common ). In ^acharano^^
{vaginismus)^ there is a repulsion against coitus
"(vaginismus is an abnormal sensitiveness of the
external genitalia which may occasionally
develop to spasmodic contraction of the constric-
tor, cunni, the levator ani and the muscles of
the entire pelvic floor ; nervous virgins on the
wedding night might l)e its subjects if brutal
attacks are made bv inconsiderate husbands, if
they have got leathery hymen or especially in
women in whom the vulva extends far forward,
so that the urethral and hymenial orifices lie upon
the symphysis or tlie ligamentum and arquatium
and such women are mostly sterile,even if cohabita-
tion in spite of the pain is enforced). * Atichcumna
:yom' (female sexual apparatus habituated to
excessive copulation) due to excesstve coitus,
is neither capable of concejDtion (it is well known
DISEASES 417
that courtesans and prostitutes who have not
contracted venereal diseases are also usually
sterile ). In 'slesmald* (pruritus vulvae)^ the
vulva is gummy, pruritic and chilly (vulvar
pruritis may originate from various causes, as acne,,
eczema, acrid gonorrheal discharges from the
vagina, or the high uric acid containing or sugar-
laden urine may exercise a cotinuous irritation,,
the decomposed and stagnated secretion makes
the genital apparatus sticky, and it should be
removed as in all other local lesion hy frequent
irrigations with weak antiseptic solutions as
lysole one per cent, thymol one-tenth of a per
cent, or sublimate one-twentieth of a per cent).
In ^sand'i* a woman does not menstruate, her
breasts are very little developed and during
coitus, the vagina appears rough {infantilismus^
genitalium in which the uterus and the ovaries
are incompletely developed, or androgynous
masculine pseudohermaphroditism in which the
penis is rudimentary and perforate, the scrotum
fused and empty, and the central resembling
the labia majora, together with the absence of
testicles and the development of large breasts
all conspire to convey the impression of the
female sex). If a maiden with a narrow vaginal
orifice has copulation with a man of very large
27
418 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
penis, and a fruit-like tumor is formed, it is
called 'phalini' (cervicitis ; it may be also pro-
voked by tbe repeated use of nodular condom )".
Susruta VI. 38. 5-8^^%
It has been often questioned whether the
hipadamsa^ of Charaka and Susruta is really
175. m ^f^g^iTtif ^: §1=^11 ^KT 11
qfti mm *T^fiT ^i^q^ ^55n ww ii
n^'f^^ «T^ g ^^tr^fTT ^:ifni=g ?jt ii
%^ f^<T =ff^ W H^¥t 'CW^'^i^ II
§^MT fqf%^ ^f^r: ^'ijpTTfeflcMT II
^ffrtT^^^T ^'¥) w^^m ^ ^^s^ II
DISEASES 419
syphilis and whether the disease was known in
ancient India before it was introduced into India
by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century and
is described graphically in Bhdva-PraJcdsa^ a
work of the same age, as ^phi7'anga-roga\ the
disease of the Franks, by which name Europeans
were known in India, identical with the 'mat
Francais or morbus gallicus' by which it was
known all over Europe.
It is well known that during- the return
voyage of Cristoval Colon (Cristopher Columbus)
from West Indies to Spain, many of the sailors
who had intercourse with the Indian women of
the Islands, developed specific lesions of syphilis,
and they were treated on landing by Pi/uy Diaz
de Isla who has left clinical pictures of the
lesions, typical of syphilis as known to-day. In
the year 1492 Cristoval Colon sailed across the
Atlantic and discovered some of the outlying
islands of Central America. On the fourth of
January, 1493, he sailed from the West Indies
on his return to Spain wliich was reached in the
following March. Many of the sailors were
treated on landing for a new disease, which is
now identified with syphilis, and the symptoms
of Vv^hich appeared on the shipboard before their
landing. On the fourteenth of June of the yeat
420 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
following, Nicholas Scyllatius reported an
epidemic of syphilis. Soon after this Gonzalez
^Fernandez de Cordova, left Spain for Italy,
where in a second campaign, his troops were
"brought into contact with those of the Erench.
The Erench army numbering about 8 to 10
thousand soldiers, recruited from all parts of
Europe, crossed into Piedmont on the eighth of
December, in an expedition against Naples.
According to the fashion of the day both the
Spanish and the Erench army were accompanied
by numerous courtesans and prostitutes for the
entertainment of the soldiery. Nor was this
enough. It is said that when the French
soldiers reached Naples, in the intoxication of
victory and unrestrained license of the age, they
pillaged the convents and the homes of the rich,,
and spared neither the nuns nor the virgins.
The army quartered in many important Italian
and Erench cities on its return journey, left
behind always in its track the 'fearful scouy^ge
of God* as it was called by the Church, and
•with the dispersal of the army, as the soldiers
returned to their homes in all parts of Europe,
the disease began to spread lilce a plague, spaiing
neither the cardinals, royalties nor the laity. It
was known by different names, as the 'malady of
DISEASES 421
the Neapolitans^ Portugtiesse, or Spainards^^ but it
was 'par excellence^ known as the disease of the
Erench ( morbus gallicus ). And one thing
is clear that the history of modern syphilis can
be traced step by step to the Neapolitan expedi-
tion of the Erench monarch Charles VIII.
Bones have been exhumed of the ancient Indians,
in scattered parts of America, as Colorado and
Lima, exhibitini^ syphilitic exostosis and the
results of periositis, osteitis, sclerosis, caries and
other morbid processes .-"<
All this definitely proves that syphilis was
endemic in America, and the sailors of Columbus
contracted the disease in their sexual intercourse
with the Indian women, and on their return,
home, from tlieir contact, it spread gradually to
the rest of Europe and the modern world. But
this can not warrant the assumption that syphi-
lis in some other modified or attenuated form
was not known to the ancient world. The Old
Testament, the ancient Chinese medical work's,
and especially Charaka and Susruta have left
incontestable testimonials of the pathogenesis,
evolution and the malignant course of this
fateful disease. The initial lesion with chancre,
* Peabody Museum of American Archeology and
Ethnology, Cambridge, Mass.
422 ANCIENT HINBIJ MEDICINE
cutaneous manifestations, laryngeal symptoms,,
caving in of the nasal bridge, condylomata,
gum.mata in the nose, ears and eyes, exostoses
of the bones {apach'i), all these make a complete
picture of syphilis {Susruta II. 11. 15 ). But
it may be said that if 'liiigarsa or iipadarasa''
were really syphilis, there would have been no
need of writing a chapter on *phiranga' malady
(morbus gallicus) u- ith clear and systematic clinical
picture of typical syphilis, by Bhava-Mis'ra
in his well-known ' Bhava-Prakasa' after the
Portuguese had introduced it in India, in addition
to that of \ipadamsa\ thus artificially adding a
disease without reason, if both were indeed
identical. Strangely, ^Madhava-Nidana\ a work
of pathology, composed between the seventh
and eighth centuries, gives its seventy-seventh
chapter to 'phiranga roga' and the language of
both *MadhavaNidancC and *Bhava'P7'akasa*
is the same. It seems clear that this must have
been a later interpolation, for in Madhavakara's
time, the word 'phiraiiga^ was not known.
Whatever may be the case, whether the passages
are spurious or ^ Madhava-nidana' is a much
later work than it is generally believed, it must
not be forgotten that the pathogenic micro-
organisms do not possess the same virulence
DISEASES 42^
under all circumstances. As the seeds of a plant
sown in different soils— marshy, sandy, fertile,
rocky or desert wastes, and according to the
mineral contents of the soil, sunshine, humidity
and temperature — will vary in their folliage,
growth, size of the plant and the fruit, and in
course of time would evolve into suh-species, so a
disease p^erm in the history of its evolution
passes through an eventful career of exuberant
growth and vitality or arrested development,,
its life being conditioned by the nourishment it
receives and the environmental influences it is
subjected to. Disease is the expression of the
reactions of the organism in the struggle that
ensues between the invading pathogenic germs
and the host at whose expense the specific germs
want to live and multiply. Two organisms are
never the same. The American Indians were
virtually nomads who lived by hunting. Their
civilization was crude and primitive. They
lacked personal and communal hygiene. They
knew not the comforts of advanced ^social Oi'gani-
■zations' — progressive and well-ordered States and
Empires — in which life was settled, peaceful
and regulated, and there was plenty of nutrition^
medical attention and hospital facilities for all.
So there is no wonder that syphilis ran a very
42 i ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
virulent course with them. While in Asia, it
became controlled and its virulence was
attenuated. Moreover, in course of time a disease
becomes milder as the race becomes partially
immunized by the antibodies that are elaborated
by the organism as a reaction of the disease and
those characteristics are transmitted from
generationto generation, thus developing a partial
or complete racial immunity against a specific
disease. A new disease is always virulent, for the
body has not yet developed antibodies as a defensive
mechanism against its attack. In the fifteenth
century, after its introduction by the sailors of
Columbus, syphilis overran Europe as a terrible
epidemic. Now the European races have been
partially immunized against it, and it usually
runs a very mild course, even milder than what it
was fifty years ago, as descriptions left by
reliable medical writers unmistakably show the
horrible syphilitic ravages which are almost
unknown to-day. Possibly better nutrition and
hygiene have been not unimportant factors.
When syphilis was first introduced in the
Sandwich Islands, more than half the population
was exterminated by it within a short time as
by a plague. 80 it is very likely that when the
Portuguese introduced the. virulent type of
DISEASES 425
European syphilis, it appeared almost like a new
disease in the severity of the symptoms and
malignant sequela. The etiology of the disease
became more definite and certain, and therefore
all the primary and tertiary manifestations of
the lesion became united and related together,
and not as descrilied before as separate diseases.
"Because in the land of the Prank(European),
this disease (syphilis) is very prevalent, it is
called by the pathologists, ^phiranga^ (Frank's or
European) disease. This disease is developed by
the physical contact of a Erank or coitus with
a Frankish woman. Its another name is ^gandha-
roga? (the disease thab smells). It is contagious.
After the incubation of the disease, the ''mta^
becomes aUected, and according to the symptom,
the lesion of the 'mtcC is to be determined.
"Syphilis manifests itself in three ways, exter-
nally, internally, or both combined. External
syphilis manifests as a slightly painful papule
which ulcerates like a tumor, but is easily cur-
able. Internally gumma appears like tumescence
at the joints with pain and inflammation and is
very difficult to cure.
"Emaciation, loss of strength, caving in of the
nasal bridge, anorexia, osteitis and osteocampsia
are the symptoms of (tertiary) syphilis.
426 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
External syphilitic eruption and uncompli-
cated condylomata are curable. Internal mani-
festation {gummata) of syphilis is very hard to
cure. But the internal complications of syphilis
in a debilitated person are incurable.
Treatment : The ancient therapeutists have
said that the application of ( calcinated and inci-
nerated ) mercury ( Jcarpurarasa ) positively
controls ( the progress of ) syphilis. And if the
mercury is given in the following manner, it
does not cause ulceration of the mouth : Press
wheat flour with water and make a cup ( out
of the paste ); place into the cup four ^gunjas'
( the berries of Abrus precatorius, weighing
about a grain and a half each ) of mercury and
make such a capsule of it that no mercury can
be seen on the surface. Then rolling the capsule
( enclosing mercury ) on clove-powder, swallow
it carefully with water, so that it does not come-
in contact with the teeth. Later, betel-nut should
be chewed, and vegetables (consisting of leaves),^
acids and sodium chloride should not be indulged
in. Especially fatigue, exposure to the sun,,
exertion and coitus must be avoided. About
one-fourth of an ounce of mercurv, one-fourth
of an ounce of Acacia catechu, half an ounce
of 'akctra-karabha (Echinopea echinatus f) and
DISEASES 427
tliree-fourtlis of an ounce of honey pounded to-
gether in a mortar should be made into seven
pills. Syphilis is destroyed by taking eacli of
the pills every morning: with water. After taking
the pill, acids and sea-salt should be avoided.
Fumigation : Mercury one ounce, sulphur
one ounce and Embelia ribes one ounce should
be pounded together and made into a paste,
and seven pastils are to be made out of it. If
the syphilitic is subjected to the fumigation
for seven days, by putting a ball into fire eacli
day, then syphilis is certainly cured.
Inunction : One-fourth of an ounce of mercury
is to be rubbed over the body with the juice of
Michelia champaka and Barleria pubifiora byi
hand, as long as mercury does not entirely/
disappear. The fomentation is to be applied
(to facilitate absorption) and if thus avoiding
acids and sea salt, inunction is applied for seven
days, syphilis is cured." Bhava-praMsa
IV. 50. 1-20^ ^^
176. fti^l=€"=^ ^^ ^I^^^ qif%T I
c\m-({ t^F ^t^'^t s^lTfVsair^R^lTl: II I
firsT^sf^r^RJIT^ — 'WtlT: f^Kw]^' m^^ fff^ ^^^[
428 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
S%^m^' fqiTFl^^T ^<fT II o
^^.11 ^TT?TTcTqT(^T^ Piirsim 5^fiT^q^PT, II ?o — ^8
^^ncn: f^w li^cT ^^rat?7 II c^^tt: ¥5r^: ^iMi-rirfvpyfr' jwtsr^r i
VI.— THERAPEUTICS.
"The agent that normalises a diseased function
is called Hherapeutics' and the application of
it is the duty of the physician. That the
principles of the body remain normal and do not
become abnormal, is the object of Hhsrapeutics''
Charaka I. 16. l8'■^
Disease is frequently caused directly and
by certain states of the blood. If certain princi-
ples in the blood are diminished, due either to
faulty dietary or pathogenesis, as iron or thyroid
secretion which are necessary fur metabolic
processes, morbid conditions of health result from
these causes, known as anemia ( olir/ochromemia,
lacking sufficient iron for the formation of
hemoglobin ), or myxedema (due to deficiency of
thyroid secretion). They can be easily remedied by
giving iron in an assimilable form as milk, meat
or spinach, or thyroid glands or sea-weeds contain-
177. JiTfir. farqrfwi^i'^^ si^,^ ^cf?: ^wr. i
430 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
jng iodine ?iS Durvillae utilis^ Lamian7^ia sacarina
etc., so that the thyroid glands may manufacture
the necessary colloids from them. The blood
being faulty, the tissues are ill-nourished and
lack the necessary resisting power against the
invasion of pathogenic micro-organisms. (2)
There may be also disorders due to the excess
of substances in the blood as 'glucose' in glyco-
suria, or uric acid in gouty diathesis. If diabetes
is due to defective carbohydrate metabolism,
it can be cured by withholding carbohydrates
from the diet, if begun when the case is not
too advanced. Colchicum seems to remove the
pain symptoms of gout. (3) There may be
foreign bodies in the blood and their abnormal
secretions, as the germs of malaria {Plasmodium
malctrice), leprosy {Bacillus leprcc) or syphilis
(Spirocheta pallida). Quinine kills the malarial
spores of plasmodia, chaulmoogra and its deri-
vatives the lepra bacilli, and mercury the syphi-
litic spirocheta.
It is very likely that a majority of the drugs
that have found place in the 'Hateria Medica*
of various countries, have very little positive
value. They are more or less empirical. If
tliey cure at all, it is but symptomatic, if not
psycho-therapeutic, and can not be radical.
DISEASES 431
Many people subconsciously, as in various other
superstitions, feel assured against a disease, if
they have taken some kind of medicine. Lack-
ing faith in religion, they confide in pseudo-
science, for the word 'science* has a magic charm
and the people are swayed by it, as by religion
in the past, and the medicine-man is but a suc-
cessor of the priest. That is why, the list of
drugs has swelled in volume and a new drug
is being added every day. The fact is that
a medicine can not destroy the pathogenic germs
lodged in the tissues or blood-corpuscles without
destroying the tissues, or, the corpuscles. If the
chemical is strong enough to kill the pathogenic
micro-organisms, it might cure the disease, but
it is apt to kill the patient. Of all medicines in all
'Materia Medlcas*, only quinine, chaulmoogra
and mercury have proved to be of some value in.
the treatment of malaria, leprosy and syphilis.
Yet the sequela of their treatment are many and
are injurious to the organism. If the organism
needs iron or phosphorus, it is not only useless,
but liarmful, to give inorganic ferric or phoshor-
ic salts or compounds, for the body is incapable
of assimilating them and they throw additional
burden upon the over- worked kidney to elimi-
nate them.
j2 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
However, fron. tUi. ";vUl be "«:-^^ J-
medication is concerned, '* ^ .„ i„telU-
,,solete, as the people ar JO- ^^ ^^_^
^---^r'"c::tt;ri";o..uerea.y
., „ cnrwrv and antisepsis,
opotherapy, smgery
• t Hindu Medicine was justified m
Ancient S">du J ^^ ^^^^.^^^ „a
emphasizing thec^^^^ ^,,^^,,,^ ,y p.omotinS
dietary m the treatnae t„ ,„aWe it
«,e resisting power « "-^.enesis. Ch.raka
to cure Itself oi ttie p '^ „j drugs
tested : —
• „. suffers if <3wS^ «''*' S^'^'"'
.•The organism ^uffeis = ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^
wl>ose names, "^^^ ^ot heen properly
well-known, or if tnown, M ^^...dose).
gi.en (cUeiiiical jcorn «^^^ ^
By proper cliemical comnin
!;' a'deadly poison can hecome a go d^^^^.^^
cine, while a good drug hy ^^^^^^l^.^n can
(chemical incompatibility) and PP .^^^^^._
l,e venomously injurious Thet y ^.^^^
gent person who wishes cvie an
THERAPEUTICS 433
should not take an improper medicine. Charakco
I. 1. 48i'«.
"Medicines are derived from three sources —
animals, minerals and vegetahlcs." Charaka I. 1.
"Of animals, honey, milk and milk-products,
bile, fat, bone-marrow, blood, flesh, excreta,
urine, skin (including membrane), semen, bone,
tendon, horn, claw, hoof, hair, down and gall-stone
are used in medicine.
Gold, five metals (silver, copper, tin, lead and
iron) and their oxides, sand, carbonate of lime,
arsenous disulphide, arsenous sulphide, precious
stone (diamond), sea-salt, ferric carbonate of
calcium and antimony ( are used in medicine
of the minerals ).
Vegetable drugs are from four sources : h:anas-
178. ^^ inrfiram* ^T5i^;T:n5'w'r?cfr*F; i
qllT^ f^^* ^'^* W^M W{7l* *T^rf \
179. fi(t3^%f^ '^^ snwwff^qit^^'T. 1
28
434 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
pati^ {gymnosper^ns), *vanaspatya^ {angiospeo^ms),
'osadhi' {Jierhs) and *virudh* {archegoniates)^
Those who have fruits without flowers are
called ^vanaspati* {gymnospei'ms). Those whose
fruits develop from flowers, are called vanaspatya-
{angiosperms). Those who only persist for the
development of seeds are called 'osadhi' {herbs).
Those which expand {pratcina^ by climbing,
as the fern Lygodium pahnatum ) are called,.
^viriuW ( arcliegonlates, )." Charaka I. 1.
36-38 '^'^
"Root (iuTda)^ bark (tvaJc), pith (sara), gum-
resin (niryyasa), culm (nada)^ juice {svarasa)^
leaves and flowering top (pallava), vegetable
alkali {ksara\ milky exudation {ks'ira), fruit
iphala), flower ^puspa)^ ash ( bhasma ), oil {taila\
180. ^^'^ f^TMW f^ ^€T JT^n^TTfWT II
^^T^iTra^T fN:.^^^^^^'srfi?: ii
THERAPEDTICS 435
thorn (kantalza^ for opening superficial cutaneous
abscess), leaf {patra)^ flower-bud (mfiga), rhizome
and hiilb (kanda)^ and bud (pr«roA«= undevelo-
ped shoot) of plants are used as medicines.'^
C'haraka I. 1. 38^*^\
"Tlie fluid tliat is extracted by pressing any
(vegetable or animal) substance in a machine,
is called juice {svarasa). Anything that is
beaten into semi- solid consistency in a mortar,
is called paste (kcdka). The liquid preparation
of any (vegetable) drug, obtained by boiling:
with water, is called by the therapeutists. Decoc-
tion {srta). The preparation that comes out by
steeping a (crude) drug in cold water, and passing
it through a sieve after exposing it to the dew-
drops of the night (that is the crude drug is to
be kept soaked in water at least for 12 hours),
is called Infusion {mta). If any ground drug is
poured into boiling water, and the preparation is
passed through a sieve, it is called, Tea {phauta).^^
Charaka 1. 4). 8' ^^
181. ^'5i«<* ^iTf*T5?T^-'rrf-^';€q^T: i
"^KV. 'i\i W W ^T^ ^^rfsT -^w^'. I
182. ^^v^-^m^w^i'Z^', ^m ^^ I
436 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Cerebral Sedatives : 'Tructus Acbyranthes
aspera {apamarga), Piper longum {pippali)^ Piper
nigrum {maricha\ Embelia ribes ( vidaiiga ),
IVIoringa pterjgosperma {sigra)^ Sinapis alba
(s«s/xr/>a), Xantboxylon alatum {tumhuru\ Nigella
sativa {ajdj'C)^ Ocymuin gratissimum {ajagandhd),
Salvadora persica {p'ilu)^ EUetaria major (<?/a),Piper
^urantiacum ( harenuka ), cardamomi semina
( prthv'ika ), Ocimum basilicura {surasd) Clitoria
ternatea (sveta)^ Ocimum sanctum (kutheralca)
Ocimum villosum {pha?iijjhaka\ fructus Albizzia
lebbek ( sh^'isa ), Allium sativum {lasuna)^ Cur-
cuma longa and Berberis asiatica {haridra and
darti-haridrd ), sodium cbloride and rock-salt
{ lavana-dvaya ), Cardiospermum balicacabum
{jyotismat'i) y-<\ridi zingiber officinale {)idgard) tliese
are Cerebral Sedatives. Tliese are also used in
migraine, cephalalgia, catarrh, helmet-headache,
syphilitic gumma (^;-imiyy«(i^i-bacterial lesion ?),
apoplexy, anosmia and epilepsy.
Emetics : Randia dumetorum (madatia)^ Gly-
THERAPEUTICS 437
eyrrliiza glabra {madJmhd)^ Azadiraclita indica
(mm5a),Acbyraiit!ies aspera(;*i'wi^^a),Achyrantbes
fruticosa {krta-vedana), Piper longum (pippal'i),
Mallotus pbilippinensis (kutaja)^ CitruUus colo-
cyntbis {iksvdhu), EUetaria major (ela) and Acby-
rantbes obtusifolia {dhamai^gava) are to be used
as Emetics in proper doses, in intestinal, *pitta^
and 'Mesma* diseases witliout causing any injury
to tbe organism.
Purgatives j Ipomoea ( Convolvulus ), tur-
petlium {trivrt), Terminalia cbebula, Terminalia
belerica ( Myrobalan ) and Emblica (Phyllantbus)
officinalis (tri-phald), Baliospermum montanum
(danti), Ipomoea caerulea {nUin'i'y Abrus preca-
torius {saptala)j Acorus calamus {vacha), Mallotus
pbilippinensis {kampillaka\ Clitoria ternatea
(gavaksl), Mimusops kauki (ksirini), Luffa amara
{udak'ir7/i/ka)jSa\\adoYa. persica {pilu)y Cassia fistula
{aragvadha), Uvae passa? (draksa)^ Baliospermum
indicum {dravant'i) and Barringtonia acutangula
(nichula) are to be used as JPurgatioes in intesti-
nal diseases, Sterospermum suaveolens {patali)^
Premna serratifolia {agnimantha), Aegle marmelos
( vilva ), Oroxylum ( Calosantbus ), indicum
(it/omka), Gmelina arborea {kasmaryya)^ Desmo-
dium triflorum {salaparm)^ Uraria logopodioides
(prsnipaimt), solanum xantbocarpum (nidigdhika)^
438 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Sida cordifolia [cala), Tribulus lanuginosus
{asvadmnstra) Solanum indicum {vrhati), Rici-
nus commuDis {eranda), Boerhaavia procumbens
( punarnavd ), Hordeum hexastichura ( yava ),
Doliclios uniflorus {kulattha)^ Zizyphus jujuba
{kola), Tinospora cordifolia {giiduchl)^ Randia
dumentorum {madana), Butea frondosa (paldsa),
Andropogon citratum {karttrna), oils and salts
are to be used ( as purgatives) in constipation
and in the formation of the feces." Charaha
I. 2. 2-5^ ^\
183. '^iqmiw wt^rf^T fq^tr^ ^rf^ifir ^ i
fsfft^s^lWI^q^F^ "^TOsTm K»ft?% II
fl^^ M"^ fff^ ^^ fKr^^w I
fq^ili^^r'^Iir^^'lt ^?Wmi1% '^ II
^■^^^ qg^lci fv{^■^[ t^f^rf^^'r ii
THERAPKUTICS 439
Antiparasitics : Cassia fistula {aragvadhd),
Cassia tora {aidagaja)^ Laffa amara, Justicia
adhatoda (vasa)^ Tinospora cordifolia, ilandia
dumentorum, Curuma longa, Berberis asiatica.
Acacia gvimraifera (s?yahva\ Cedrus deodara
{suraJiva)^ Acacia catechu (khadira\ Toraentosa
latifolia {dhava), Azadirachta indica, Embelia
indica, Nerium odoratum {haravlraka), Betula
bhojpattra (blim^jja). Allium sativum, Albizzia
lebbek, Laurus cassia ilomasa), Balsamodendron
pubescens igugg^dii)^ Moringa {zeylanica) ptery-
gosperma {krimagmidha), Ocimum villosum,
Mallotus pliilippinensis, Alstonia scbolaris,
Salvadora persica, Saussurea lappa {kustha\
Jasminum grandiflorum (sumaua), A.corns calamus.
Piper angustifolium {remika)^ Ipomoe turpethum,
Baliospermum montanum, Acaju officinalis
^I'l ^^m\\ -^Mf^ 1?^=^ 'T^'TTf^T =^ II
440 ANCIKNT HINDU MEDICINE
{bhallataka)^ ferric calcium carbonate {gairika)^
antimonious siilplude ianjana), arsenous sulphide
(ala), arsenous disulphide (inanahsila)^ faliginis
alcalina {grha'dhT(7na = ^ complex empyreumatic
substance, deposited from smoke, made up
chiefly of a resinous substance combined
•with lactic acid, carbonous matters and creasote,
besides various mineral salts), Elletaria major
iela), ferric sulphide ikaslsa), Symplocos racemosg.
(lodh7'a), Terminalia arjuna {arjjuna\ Achyran-
thes aspera {must a) and Sliorea robusta {sarjja]
are kept together with the bovine gallstone for
seven days, and then having crushed the gall-
stone, the linimenta is mixed with oleum sinapis,
and applied over the body as an unguent, then,
obstinate psoriasis, leucoderma, alopecia, keloid,
tinea imbricata, scrofulide, fistula-in-ano and
€Czema are cured within a short time.
Saussurea lappa, Curcuma longa, Berberis
asiatica, Ocimum basilicum, Trichosanthes
dioica, Azadirachta indica, Withania somnifera
{asvagandha), Cedrus deodara, Moringa pterygo-
sperma, Sinapis alba, Xanthoxylon budrunga
{tumvuni), Coriandri fructus, Scrapus capsularis-
{vanya) and Andropogon acicularis (ohatida)
are to be ground in equnl proportion and mixed
"with w^hey, and if then it be rubbed over the
THERAPEUTICS 441
body as an unguent, pruritus, eruption, urti-
caria and tumescence become cured.
Saussurea auriculata, Cocculus cordifolius
( amrta ), Hydrocarpus kurzii or copper-sulphide
( asanga ), Berberis asiatica, ferric sulphide^
gummi Rotieria tinctoria ( kampillaha ), Acliy-
rantbes aspera, Symplocosracemosa, Andropogon
sboenantbus ( saufjandhUca ), Sborea robusta,
gummi Vateria indica ( sarja-7'a8a ), Embelia
indica, arsenous disulpbide, arsenous sulphide,
and Nerium odorum — relieve tinea imbricata,
pruritus, keloid, eczema and scrofulide, if these
are ground and rubbed over the body, smeared
with unguents.'* Charaka I. 3. 2-4 ^®*.
184. "^1^^^: ^^515!: ^wi ■sm\ -^^ ^^^ ift? i
^nw: ^^i: ^f^^ ^^^ t^rf^ f^Ti'* ^^H^^^^ ii
?lf5^^ MV0. ^T^'. fairlisc Wl«=l^ »J?l5^§i'^JI5^ I
^^^^ g'^^^'f^T^'^ =^wi^ '^'HTf^ ^'iif^ ^^ u
il'i2 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
' Anodynes : "Radix Nympliaea lotus, Cedrus
deodara, Saussurca lappa, Glycyrrhiza glabra,
Elletaria major, Nelumbium speciosum {kamala )
Nyphaea stellata ( iitpala ), Aquilaria agallocha
( lolia ), Typlia angustifolia ( eraka ), Nymphaea
lotus ( padmaka ), Andropogon acicularis — if
these are used as a liniment, headache is relieved.
Aerides tessalatum { rasna ), Curcuma longa,
Berberis asiatica, Valeriana dioica, Poeniculum
vulgare and Anisi fructus, Cedrus deodara, Saccha-
^rum officinarum andCselogyne OYalk{j'ivanH = ccBla)
if compounded and mixed with clarified butter
and oleum sesami, and applied as a liniment
after warming it, pain is relieved.
Demulcefils : Musci ( saivala ), Nymplia^a
lotus, Nymphiiea stellata, Calamus rotang
{ vetra ), Calophyllum ino}>hyllum ( tiiiiga ),
radix NymplmBa lotus, Andropogon muricatum,
Symplocos racemosa, Aglaia edulis, Pterocarpus
^^TM ^'^i N?^r: ^^^r: ifsifT s^t^fi^ "m ^^rnfi h
THERAPEUTICS 443
«antalinus, if applied as a liniment, after pasting
and mixing them with clarified butter, the irri-
tation of a burn is relieved. Ipomoea digitata
( sita ), Rubia cordifolia, Calamus rotang, radix
Nymphsea lotus, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Citrullus
<jolocynthis ( aindri ), Nymphsea lotus, Panicum
frumentaceum ( dnrvva ), radix Hedysarum
alhagi ( yamsa-mula ), Poa cynosuroides, Saccba-
rum spoutaneum ( kasa ), and Typha angustifo-
lia, if applied as a liniment, irritation of the skin
is relieved. Lichen ( suileyam ), Elletaria major,
Aquilaria agallocha, Saussurea lappa, Andropo-
gon acicularis, Tabernajmontana coronaria {nata)
Cinnamonum zeilanicum {tvalc), Cedrus deodara,
Aerides tessellatum, Albi^izia lebbek and Mimosa
indica, if applied as a plaster on a venous bite,
the burning irritation is relieved.
Dictphoi^etics : Albizzia lebbek, Mimosa
indica, Mesua speciosa ( hema ), and Symplocos
racemosa, if rubbed upon the skin in the powder
form, it relieves skin-lesion and causes perspira-
tion." Charaka I. 3. 16-21i * ' .
185. Wi^l^ i^P5 ii«" ?remi^^ ^ii^t^ =w i
444 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Analeptics : "Celtis orientalis minor ( j'ivaha )
Vitis vinifera ( 7'savaJca ), Leptadeiiia reticulata
( meda ), Leptadenia spartium ( mahameda ),.
Gymnema balsamic am ( kakoVi ), Gymnema
lactiferum ( hsira-kalcoVl ), Phaseolus trilobus
( mudga-parm ), Teramnua labialis ( masaparni ),
Cselogyne ovalis and Glycyrrhiza glabra — these
ten are vitalizing astringent drugs.
Tonics : Mimusops kauki ( Jcsirini ), Oxy-
stelma esculentum ( rajaksavaka ), Cordia latifo-
lia ( valet ), Gymnema balsamicum, Gymnema
lactiferum, Cordia officinalis, Cordia myxa, Hibis-
cus vitifolius, Batatas paniculata and Ipomose
Latatas — these ten are tonic astringents.
JSpispastics : Cyperus rotundus, Saussurea
lappa, Curcuma longa, Berberis asiatica, Acorus
calamus, Aconytum heterophyllum, Picrorrhiea
?f^re^^" ii3i2fiR?Tg f'T^^'Ji: ^RT^^rsrt^^T =g ii
THERAPEUTICS ^iS
3;urioa, Plumbago zeylanica, Pongamia glabra
and Ipomooe indica — these ten are reductive,
Pustulants : Convolvulus turpethum, Ascle-
pias gigantea^ Eicinus communis, Gloriosa
superba, Kubia cordifolia, Plumbago zeylanica,
Pongamia glabra, Andropogon acicularis, Picro-
rrhiza kurroa and Cleome felina — these ten.
cause suppuration.
Fulneraries : Glycyrrliiza glabra, Tinospora
cordifolia, Uraria logopodioides, Stephania
herandifolia, Mimosa pudica, Bombex malabar-
<jum, Grislea tomentosa, Symplocos racemosa,
Aglaia edulis, and Myrica sapida — these ten
promote the healing of wounds..
Irritants : Piper longum, radix Piper longum.
Piper chava, Plumbago zeylanica, Zingiber offi-
cinale, Riimex vesicarius, Piper nigrum, Pimpi-
nelJa saxifraga, Semecarpus anacardium and
Ferula asafoetida — these ten are rubefacient.
Tonics : CitruUus colocynthis, Carpopogon pru-
riens, Asparagus sarmentosus, Phaseolus trilobus.
Convolvulus paniculatus, Withania somnifera,
Desmodium triflorum, Picrorrhizza kurroa, Sida
cordifolia, and Sida rhombifolia — these ten are
tonics ( strengthening ).
Rubefacients : Pterocarpus santalinus, Cal-
phyllum inophyllum, Nymphaea lotus, Andropo-
446 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
gon muriculatum, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Rubia
cordifolia, Hemidesmus indicus, Convolvulus-
paniculatus, Panicum f rumentaceum and Pani-
cum dactylon — these ten bring redness to the
complexion.
Expectorants'. Hemidesmus indicus, radix
Saccharum ofHcinarum, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Piper
longum, TJvie passae. Convolvulus paniculatus,
Myrica sapida, Hydroctyle asiatica, Solanum
indicum, and Solanum xanthocarpum — these ten
stimulate bronchial (mucous membrane).
Se art-Stimulants : Mangifera indica, Spon-
dias mangifera, Artocarpus lakoocha, Carissa
carandas, Tamarindus indica, Rumex vesicarius,
Prunus acida, Prunus acacia, Punica granatium,
and Citrus medica — these ten stimulate the
heart.
jRefrigerants : Zingiber officiniale, Plum-
bago zeylanica. Piper chaba, Embelia ribes^
Saussurea zeylanica, Tinospora cordifolia, Acorns-
calamus, Cyperus rotundus, Piper longum and
Trichosanthes — these ten allay thirst.
hemostatics : Holarrhena antidysenterica,
Aegle marmelos, Plumbago zeylanica, Aconitum
heterophyllum, Terrainalia chebula, Alhagi
maurorum, Berberis asiatica, Acorus calamus,
and Piper chava — these ten cure piles.
V TOERAPEUTICS 447
Antiparasitics : Acacia catecjhu, TermiDalia.
chebula, Phyllanthus emblica, Curcuma longa,
Semescarpum anacardium, Alstonia scholaris^
Cassia fistula, Nerium odorum, Embelia ribes,
and Jastniauna guandiflouura, Pterocarpus santa-
linus, Nardostachys jatamansi, Cassia fistula,
Pongamia glabra, Azadiracbta indica, Holarrbena
antidysenterica, Sinapis alba, Glycyrrhiza glabra,.
Berberis asiatica and cyperus rotandus cure tbe
skin diseases.
Counter-irritants : Pterocarpus santalinns,.
Nardostachys Jatamansi, Cassia fistula, Pongamia
glabra, Azadiracbta indica, Holarrbena antidys-
enterica, Sinapis alba, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Ber-
beris asiatica and cyperus rotundus relieve pruri-
tus (by dilating the superficial vessels).
Anthelmintics : Moringa pterigosperma,.
Piper nigrum, Tithymalus antiquorum, Colocasia
antiquorum, Vitex negundo, Embelia ribes^
Achyranthes aspera, Tribulus terrestris, Clero-
dendron serratifolium and Salvadora persica are
vermifuge (cause the destruction or expulsion
of the intestinal worms).
Antidotes : Curcuma longa, Kubia cordi-
folia, Aerides tessallatum, Ichnocarpus frute-
scens, Pterocarpus santalinus, Strychnos potato-
rum, Albizzia, lebbek, Vitex negundo and
MS ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Cordia myxa — these ten destroy ( neutralize )
poisons.
Galactogogues : Andropagon muricatuin,
Oryza sativa, a sub-species of Oryza sativa,
Saccharum officiiiarum, Saccliaruin cylindri-
cum, Poa cynosuroides, Saccharum spontaneum,
Tinospora cordifolia, Ahelmoschus moschatus,
and Hemionetis esculenta — these ten increase
milk.
Anti galactogogues : Stephania hernandifolia,
Zinsfiber ofiBcinale, Cedrus deodara, C/vnerus
rotundus, Saussurea zeylanica, Tinospora cordi-
folia, Holarrhena antidysenterica, Agathotes
cherayfca, Picrorrhiza kurroa, and bemidesmus —
tliese ten reduce the production of milk.
Aphrodisiacs : Celtis orientalis, Vitis vini-
fera, Gymnema balsamicum, Gymnema lacti-
ferum, Phaseolus trilobus, Teramnus labialis,
Leptademia spartium, Asparagus racemosus,
l»^ardostachys jatamansi and Rhus succedania —
these ten increase semen.
AnapJivodisiacs : Saussurea auricuh-ia, Pero-
nia elephantum, Myrica sapida, os sapiae, Nauclea
cadamba, saccharum purificatum, Hygrophila
spinosa, Ruellia longifolia, Sesbania grandiflora
and i.ndropogon muiicatum — these ten reduce
semen (diminish sexual desire and power).
THERAPEUTICS 449
Adipogenous agents : — TJvae passoe, Gly-
'Cyrrhiza glabra, Tinospora cordif olia, Leptademia
spartiura, Convolvulus paniculata, Gymnema
balsamicum, Gymnema lactifenim, Celtis orien-
talis, Caelogyne ovalis and Des medium triflorum
— these ten cause the for mation of fat (in the
body.)
Diaphoretics : — Moringa pterigosperma, Rici-
nus communis, Asclepias gigantea, Boerhaava
diffusa, Boerhaava procuhens, Hordium hexa-
stichum, Sesamum indicum. Dolichos biflorus,
Phaseolus trilobus, and Zizyphus jujuba — these
ten increase perspiration (by stimulating the
sudoriparous glands).
Emetics : — Mel, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Bauhi-
nia varieg;vta, Bauhinia acuminata, Nauclea
cadaraba, Calamus fasciculatus, Cephalandra
indica, Crotalaria verrucosa, Asclepias gigantica
and Achyranthus aspera — these ten cause vomit-
ing.
JPurgatives : — Uvae passae, Gmelina arborea,
Grewia asiatica, Terminalia cliebula, Phyllan-
thus emblica, Terminalia belerica, Zizyphus
laccifera, Zizyphys jujuba, Zizyphus napeca and
Salvadora persica — these ten are purgatives.
JEnemata : — Ipomoea turpethum, Aegle
marmelos, Piper longum, Holarrhena antidysen-
29
450 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
terica, Sinapis alba, Acorus calamus, fructi
Holarrhena anticlysenterica, Peucedanum graveo-
lens, Glycyrrhiza glabra, and fructus Kandifv
dumefcorum — these ten »re (suited) for enema.
Oily-enemata : — Vanda roxburgbii, Cedrus
deodara, Aegle marnielos, Eandia dumetorum^.
Peucedanun guaveolens, Boerhavia diffusa alba,
Boerbavia diffusa rubra, Tribulus terrestris,
Premna serratifolia and Oroxylum indicum —
these ten are (fitted) for oily-enemata.
Cerebral sedatives : — -Cardiospermum halica-
cabum. Sinapis nigra, Piper nigrum, Piper lon^
gum, Embelia ribes, Acliyranthes aspera, Sina-
pis alba, Moringa pterogospermura, Clitorea
ternatea, and Clitorea mariana — these ten are
Cerebral sedatives (possibly an errhine is meant).
Antiemetics : — Eugenia jambolana, Mangi-
fera indica, Citrus medica, Zizyphus jujuba^
Punicum granatum, Hordeum hexastichumi
Andropogon muricatum, diatomacious earth, and
pop corn — these ten are anti-emetics (by allaying
the irritablity of the gastric nerves or the vomit-
tins: centers or neutralizinsc the toxins which
irritate those centers).
Refrigerants : — Cyperus pertenuis, Alhagi>
maurorum, Cyperus rotundus, Oldenlandia her-
bacea, Pterocarpus santalinus, Agathotes chira-
THERAPEUTICS 45 !
yata, Tinospora cordifolin, Pavonia odorata,
coraudrum sativum and Tricliosantbes dioica —
these ten aliay thirst.
Pulmonary sedatives : Curcuma zerumbet
Costas speciosas, Zizyphus jujuba, Solanum
xanthoaarpum, Sohinum indicum, Cymbidium
tessaloides, Termlnalia chebula, Piper longum,
Alhagi maiirorum and Hhus succedania — these
ten relieve hiccup (by allaying irritability of
the respiratory center or the terminal fibers of
the nerves distributed to the bronchi and lungs).
Laxatives : Aglaia roxburghiana, Hemi-
desmus indicus, fructus Mangifera indica, Colo-
santhus indicus, Symplocus racemosa, gummi
Bombax malabaricum. Mimosa pudica, Grislea
tomentosa, Clerodendrura indicum, and fructus
Nymphaea lotus — these ten cause the formation
(evacuation) of feces.
Cholagogiies : — Eugenia jambolana, Eoswe-
llia serrata,Mucuna pruriens, Glycyrrhiza glabra,
Bombax malabaricum, Pinus longifolia, edible
diatomacious earth (containing oxide of iron
which gives it a red-yellowish color), Balatas
paniculatus, Nymphaea stellata, and fructus
Sesamum indicum — these ten give color to the
feces (by causing the increased secretion of the
bile). .
f '. ^.
452 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Urinary diluents : — Eugenia jambolana,
Mangifera indica, Ficus infectoria, Ficus Benga-
lensis, Spondias mangifera, Ficus glomerata,
Ficus religiosa, Semecarpus anacardium, Oxalis
acetosella and Acacia catechu — these ten in-
crease the quantity of urine.
Urinary antacids or antieeptics : — Nelumbian
speciosum, Nymph cea stellata, Nymph sea alba,
Nymph sea rubra, Nyraphgea odorata, Nymphgea
lotus, Nymphsea pubescens, Glycyrrhiza rubra,
Aglaia roxburghiana and Grislea tomentosa —
these ten purify the urine.
Ditireiics : — Costus speciosum, Tribulus
terrestris, Sesbania grandiflora, Cleome viscosa,
Colcus amboinicus, Imperata cylindrica, Poa
cynosuroides, Saccharum spontaneum, Panicum
frumentaceum and Saccharum sara — these ten
increase the excretion of urine.
Pulmonary sedatives : — Uvae passae, Termi-
nalia chebula, Phyllanthus emblica, Piper
longum, Alhagi maurorum, Rhus succedania,
Solanum xanthocarpum, Boerhavia diffusa rubra,
Uoerhavia diffusa alba, and Phyllanthus nirury —
these ten relieve coughing (expectorants ?).
Respiratory stimulants : — Curcuma zerum-
bet, Costus speciosum, Rumex vesicularis, EUe-
taria cardiamomum, Ferula assafoetida, Ocitnum
THERAPEUTICS 453
sanctum, Phyllantbus niruri, Caelogue ovalis^
and Andropogon — these ten relieve dyspnea.
Styptics : — Stereospermum suaveolens, Prem-
na serratifolia, Aeg-le marmelos, Colosantbes
indica, Gmeiina arborea, Solanum xantbocarpum,.
Solanum indicum, Desmosium trilobum, Uraria
logopodioides, and Tribulus terrestris — tbese ten
reduce inflammation.
Antipyretics : Hemidesmus indicus, rock
candy, Stephania rotunda, E/ubia cordifolia, Uv8&
passse. Salvadora persica, Grewia asiatica, Termi-
nalia cbebula, Phyllantbus emblica and Terrui-
nalia bellerica — these ten relieve fever,
Sphial stimulants : Uvse passes. Phoenix
sylvetris, Buchananii latifolia, Zizyphus jujuba^
Punica granatum, Picus glomerata, Grewia asia-
tica, Saccbarum officianarum, Hordeum hexa-
sticbum and a variety of Oryza sativa — these-
ten remove fatigue.
Vascular sedatives : Pop corn^ Santalnum
album, fructus Gmeiina arborea, Glycyrbiza
glabra, rock-candy, Nympbsea stellata, Andro-
pogon muricatum, Hemidesmus indicum, Tinos-
pora cordiColia and pavonia odoi'ata — these ten
relieve 'septus' (internal congestion), by modera-
ting the cardiac excitement, and rendering the
heart's action more slow or less forcible.
454 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Vascular stimulants : Cassia auriculafca (Tab-
•ernaemontana coronaria ? ), Aqiiilaria agalloclia,
Coriandrum sativum. Zingiber officinale, Carum
ajowan, Acarus calamus, Solanum xautliocarpum,
Paeraiia serratifolia, Colosanthus indica, and
Piper longum — these ten relieve the chilly sensa-
tion ( by accelerating the circulation, actin,g on
the heart and the blood-vessels ).
Emollients : Diospyros glutinosa, Buchanania
latifolia, Zizyphus jujuba, xlcacia catechu, Acacia
bombolah, Alstonia scholaris, Shorea robusta,
Terrainalia arjuna, Terminah'a tomentosa, and
Acacia farmensiana — these ten relieve ( the
burning sensation ) of erysipelas.
Antirheumatics : Besraodium trilobum, Ura-
ria logopodioides, Solanum iudicum, Solanum
xanthocarpum, Ricinus communis, Gymnema
balsimicum, Santalanum album, Andropogon
muricatum, Eleteria cardamamum, and Glycyr-
rhiza glabra — these ten relieve rheumatic (gouty)
pain (by dissolving uric acid deposits),
Counter-irritants : Piper longum, radix
Piper longum, Piper chaba, Plumbago zeylanica,
Zingiber ofPicianale, Piper nigrum, Pimpinella
involucrata, Seseli ubanotis, Cuminum cyrainum,
and Achyranthes repens — these ten relieve
pain.
THERAPEUTICS 465
Stf/ptics : Mel, Glycyrliiza glabra, Crocus
■sativus, Bombax malabaricum, diatomacious
earth ( coutaining oxide of iron ), ferric Crilcium
carbonate, Syniplocos racemosa, Aglaia roxbur-
ghiana, rock candy, and pop corn — these teti.
arrest the flow of blood (by vascular contractioii).
Anodijnefi : — Shorea robusta, Myrica sapida,
Nauclea cadaniba. radix Nymphaea lotu9, Calo-
phyllum, inophyllum, Bombax malabaricum,
Albizzia lebbek, Calamus rotung, Feronia ele-
phantum and Saraca indica — these ten relieve
pain.
Anaesthetics : Perula assafoetida, Melia azeda-
rach, Acacia farnesiana, A.corus calamus, Andro-
pogon acicularis, Herpestis monieria, Corydalis
cava, Nardostachys jatamansi, Saraca indica, and
Picrorrhizah kurroa — these ten abolish conscious-
ness (by inhibiting the functions of the higher
cerebral centers).
Apht'odisiacs : CitruUus colocynthis, Herpe-
stis monieria, Panicum dactylon, Panicum
frumentaceura, Steriospermum suaveolens, Ter-
minalia chebula, Picrorrhiza kurroa, Sida cordi-
folia, and Aglaia roxburghiana — these ten
increase the reproductive powers.
Analeptics : Tinospora cordifolfa, Termina-
lia chebula, Phyllanthus emblica, Vanda roxbur-
456 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
gliii, Panicum dactylon, Caelo^yne ovalis, Hemi-
desmus indica, Hydi-ocotyle asiatica, Desmodium
trilobum, and Boerliaavia asiatica — these ten
prolong life." Charaka I. 4. 12-62' ^«.
^^> T§^ff?7f?i 'riiHTr^ ^^"i<ni% *r^f^ i
^ft^ ?:r5i^^^ w^r ^r^t^ '^i^wi^l^ ^i^ra^ vrff^^) »ttt?t^
^■^^ i7^€f ?f%w*q^^ ^^T■\ »ft=^^g >?m^
THERAPEUTICS 45T
1, Pectorals : "Dcsmodium trilobum, Ba-
tatas paniculata, Sida cordifolia, Sida spinosa,
Tribulus terrestris, XJraria logopodiodes, Aspara-
^feiT m\^\^ -^wnf^ ^^T^mpff vf^fiTi I
458 ANCIENr HINDU MEDICINE
gus racemosus, Ichnocarpus fratescens, Hemidis-
mus indiciis nigra, Celtis orientalis minor,
Tmv^^ fq^?t1 lis W"?^^! ^^RT'Ti^ aicig'^qr-
^1m^^=^^^ ?TR=grq^^ifq^-r fti^ ^q*qTqffli^?T«^ ^-
*flT^[ ffcT ^3T^[r*T ^f^'^pRll^Wlfsf *Tqf^<T I
aispg^t^^sr^q)^ qj^^Hqrr if^if=^^m?nfq<q^-
q^T q^^^.^i^tfci ^5? ?iTf^ H'flq'&*'?€l<?Tr5T *Tqf?fr i
■5i*q3i^iqTic^qT w^"?;r iT^^ »m^ ^'^^^ w^
THEKAPEUTICS 459
Vitis vinifera, Teramnus labialis, Phaseolus
trilobus, Solanum inclicum, Solatmm xauthocar-
pum, BcEi'haavia diffusa, Ricinus communis,
qiftfc?f;i irf^^ii^ ^^JT'Tf*^^ B"?^ ?CT^(55rg^-
460 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Clitorse ternata, Tragui involacrata, and AIucLmar
( Carpopogoa ) prui-iens. These are called
'vida7'i' and they relieve the derangements of
'vayiC and ^pitta\ consumption, tubercles, gouty-
pains, dyspnea and other bronchial troubles.
II. Antiseptics : Cassia fistula, Randia
dumentorum, Placourtia ramontclii. Holarrhena
antidysenterica, Stephania capilata, Acacia
catechu, Stereospermum suaveolens, Sauseviera
zeylanica, Holarrhena antidysenterica, Alstonia
scholaris, Azadirachta indica, Barleria prionitis,
Barleria buxifolia, Tinospora cordifolia, Pluin-
wof?fr^ 1 for ^$?Trf^ srlMri'piq^iR vraf^ i
^^MtairifiSire?^ql?zTT'rlgr5?mi mrft^T ^Fii^^ft-
THERAPEUTICS 461
h{\go zeylanica, Pongamia glabra, Carissa
caranda, Trlchosaathes dioica, Opiielia chirayta,
and Moraordica cliarantia are called ^afagdhadi',
and they are disinfectants in catarrh, toxemia,
gonorrhea, skin disease, and abscess cavities,
and relieve fever, vomiting and pruritus (as
•symptomatic expressions of the former lesions).
III. HiEmatiuiGfi : Cratseva religiosa ;
Barleria cserulea, Morunga plerygosperma,
Hyperanthera morunga, Sesbania aculeata,
Gymnema sylvestris, Guilandina bonducella»
Pongamia glabra, Sanseviera zeylanica, Premna
serratifolia, Barleria cristata, Momordica
monadelpha, Coccinea indica, Calotropis gigan-
tica, Pothos officinalis. Plumbago zeylanica,
Asparagus racemosus, Aegle marraelos, Gym-
nema sylvestris, Imperata cylindrica, Solanum
indicum and Solanum xanthocarpum are called
'varimadi\ and they relieve (the derangements
of) 'kapha* and adiposis, headache, adenoncosis
and adenitis.
IV. Lithontriptics : Pentaptera arjuna,
Barleria caerulea, Barleria cristata, Imperata
cylindrica. Vanda roxburghii, Cyperus pertinens,
Arundo indica latifolia, Poa cynosuroides,
Saccharum spontaneum, Coleus aromaticum,
Premnti serratifolia, Sanseviera zeylanica.
462 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Calotropis gigantea, Sciudapsus officinalis^
Calosantlies indica, Burleria prioriitij^, Nympheea
stellata, Herpestis monieria, and Tribulus
terrestris are called ^virataj-vvlkli and they
relieve stranguary, gravel and urinary calculus.
V. Oxidizer : RQsin^ Shorearobusta, Termi-
nalia alata tomentosa, Acacia catechu, Acacia
arabica. Diospyros embr^^osteris, Areca catecliu,,
Betulabhojapatra, Gyranerna sylvestris, Ougenia
dalbergisides, Santalurn album, Pterocarpus
santaliuus, Dalbergia sissoo, Albizzia lebbek,
Terminalia tomentosa, Anogeissus iatifolia,
Terminalia arjuna, Borassus llabelliformis,
Tectona grandis, Pongamia glabra, Guilandina
bonducella, Shorea robusta, Aquilaria agallocha,
and Santalaum xanthocarpum are called ^scila-
saracU\ and these relieve phlegma, ediposis,.
and skin-diseases, gonorrhea and anemia.
VI. AsbHngent disinfectants \ Symplocos
raceraosa, Symplocos alstonia, Butea frondosa,
Calosanthes indica, Clerodendron siphoanthus,
Myrica sapida, Myrica rubra, Boswellia serrata,
Rubia cordifolia, Shorea robusfca and Musa
sapientam are called ^rodhradi\ and they
relieve phlegtuat/ic disposition and adiposis,
and vaginal diseases, arrest diarrhoea, disinfect
abscess cavity and neutralize toxins.
THERAPEUTICS 463^
VII. Disinfectants : Caloti-opis gigantica^
Calotropis gigantica alba, Pongainia glabra,
Guilandenia bonducella, Heliotropiurn indicum,,
Acbyranthes aspera, Clerodeiidnirn, ( siphonan-
thus, Vandra roxbarghii, Gloriosa superba.
Batatas panicalata Batatas epulis, Tragia
involacmta, rock salt, Balanites roxburghii
are called ''arkadV and they relieve phlegmatic-
disposition, adiposis, iritestina, worms, skin
diseases, neutralize toxins and disinfect
abscess cavity.
VIII. JPeotorals : — Ocimum sanctum, Oci-
mum hirsitum, Ocimum frutescens, Andropogon
shoenanthus, Andropogon martiny, Andropogon
muricatum, Andropogon iwaraneusa, Cassia escu-
lenta, Acbyranthes aspera ; Hygrophylla spinosa^.
Embelia ribos, Myrica sapida, surasi, Vitez
negundo, Celsia carom andeliana, Salvinia cu-
cullata, Clerodendron siphonanthus, Kuta
graveolens, Solanum nigrum and Strycbnos nux-
vomica are called "surasadl^ and they relieve
phlegmatic disposition, bacterial Horn, catarrh,
anorexia, dyspnea and cough and disinfect abscess
cavity.
IX. Lithontriptics : — Bignonia indica, Butea
frondosa, Grislea tomentosa, Plumbago zeylanica,.
Handia dumetorura, Dalbergia sissoo, Euphorbia
464 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
neriifolia, Terminalia, cliebula, Terminalia belerica
and Phyllantliiis embelica are called Unushadi*
and they relieve adiposis, urethral diseases,
gonorrhea, ciiancre, anemia (symptomatic of the
other lesions), gravel and urinary calculus.
X. Stomachics : Piper longum, radix
Piper longum, Piper chaba, Plumbago zeylanica.
Zingiber officinale. Piper nigrum, Scindapsus
officinales, Piper auriinticum, Elettaria cardamo-
mum, Pimpinella involucrata, fructus Holarrhe-
na antidysenterica, Stephania hernandifolia.
Cuminum Cyminum, Sinapis alba, fructus
Melia azadaroch, Perula assafoetida, Cleroden-
dron siphonanthus, Sanseviera zeylanica,
Aconitum heterophyllum, Acorus calamus,
Embelia ribes and Picrorrhiza kurroa are called
pippahjadV and tliey are appetizing, stomachic
and dessicant, and they relieve catarrh, flatule-
nce, anorexia, glandular swelling and pain.
XI. Carminatives: Elettaria cardamomum,
Tabernsemontana coronaria, Saussurea auraticu-
lata, Nardostachys jatamansi, Andropogon shoe-
nan thus, Cinnamomum zeylanicnm, Cinnamo-
mum tamala, Mesua ferrea, Agraia roxburgiana.
Piper aurantiacum, operculum of Purpura,
Tamirindus indica,(s?<Hi = pearl-oyster), *sthaune-
mica* (a yellowish fragrant plant), Canscora
THERAPEUTICS 4i65
decussata, Pinus longifolia, Cinnamomum pauci-
floruna, Andropogoa acicularis, Sida cordifolia,
Balsamodendron mukula, Shorea Vvobusta, Liqui-
dambar orientalis, Boswellia seratta, Aquilaria.
agallocha, Trigonella corniculata, Andropogon
rauricatum, Cedrus deodara, Crocus sativus, and
Calopbyllum inopbyllum are called 'elacW and
tiiey relieve flatulence, pblegnaatic disposition,
pruritus and urticaria.
XII-XIII. Stomachics : Acorus calamus,
Cyperus rotundus, Aconitum beteropbyllum
Terminalia cbebula, Cedrus deodara, Mesua
ferrea. Curcuma longa, Berberis asiatica, Uraria
logopodioides, Holarrbena antidysenterica, and
Glycyrrhiza glabra are called vachadi and Jim^i-
dradi and they are galactogogue, antidysenteric
and particularly stomachic.
XIV. Laxatives : Hemidesmus indicus, Ich-
^ocarpus-frutescens,Tpomoeaturpethum Baliosper-
mum montamum, Canscora decussata, Symplocos
racemosa, Mallotus philippenensis, Trichosanthes
dioica, Areca catechu, Salvinia cucullata, Citrul-
lus colocynthis, Cassia fistula, Pongamia glabra,
Guilandina bonducella, Tinospora cordifolia,
Stereospermum suaveolens, Argyreia speciosa,
Eupholia neriifolia and Cleome felina are called
sydmddi and they relieve tympanites and ascites.
30
466 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
XV. Diureties : Solanum indicum, Sola-
num xanthocarpum, Holarrhena antidysenterica,
Stephania hernandifolia, and Glycyrrhiza glabra
are called ^vrhatyad'C and they relieve the
excess of the humors, anorexia, eructation and
strangury.
XVI. Disinfectants : Trichosanthes dioica,
Santalum album, Pterocarpus santalinus, Sanse-
viera zeylanica, Tinospora cordifolia, Stephania
hernandifolia, and Picrorrhiza curroa are called
patalddi and they are beneficial in anorexia,
fever, pruritus, and particularly in the asepsis of
the abscesses.
XVII. Analeptics : Gymnema balsamicum,
Gymnema lactif crura, Celtis orientalis, Vitis vini-
f era, Pliaseolus trilobus, Teramnus labialis, Lepta-
denia spartinum, Leptadenia reticulata, Tinospora
cordifolia, Rhus succedama, manna Bambucae,
Prunus padus (r), Nymphsea lotus, Nymphaea
odorata, Nyrapha3a pubescens, Mirausops kauki
and Glycyrrhiza glabra are restorative, stimulant,
tonic uj ilactogogue and phlegmatic.
XVIII. Lithontriptics : Alkalies, rock salt,
Bitumen, iron sulphide, Assafoetida and copper
sulphide are called usakidi and thfiy relieve
phlegmatic disposition and adiposis, and urinary
calculus, gravel and strangury.
THERAPEUTICS 467
XIX. Vascular Sedatives : Iclinocarpus
frutescens, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Santalum album,
Prerocarpus santalinus, Prunus padus, Gmelina
arborea, Bassia latifolia, and Andropogon muri-
<;atum are called sdrivadi and they relieve poly-
dipsia, hemorrhage, bilious fever and especially
hyperemia.
XX. Hemostatics : Sulphate of antimony,
incinerated antimony, Mesua ferrea, Aglaia
roxburghiana, Nympbaea stellata, Andropogon
muricatum radix, Nelumbium speciosum, and
Glycyrrhiza glabra are called anjanddi and they
relieve hemorrhage, toxemia and internal con-
gestion.
XXI. Carminatives : Grewia asiatica, Uvae
passae, Myrica sapida,Punica granatum,Mimusops
indica, Strychnos potatorum, Tectouia grandis,
Terminalia chebula, Terminalia belerica, and
Phyllanthus emblica are called paruskadi and
they relieve flatulence, urinary troubles, poly-
dipsia, and are appetizing and cardiac stimulants.
XXII. Antiseptics : Aglaia roxburghina.
Mimosa pudica, Woodfordia floribunda, Calo-
.phyllum inophillum, Pterocarpus santalinus,
Csesalpinia sappan, Bombax malabaricum,
antimony sulphide, diatomacious mixture of
antimony (?), Nelumbium speciaosum, RubJa
468 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
cordifolia, and Iclmocarpus frutescens are called'
*priyaiigvadi' and they are beneficial in ulcerative
dysentery, for rejoining the fractured bones and
as pustulants for the tumors.
XXIII. Pustulants : Stephania hernandifolia,
Woodfordia floribunda, Mimosa pudica, Calo-
santbes indica, Glycyrrbiza glabra, Aegle
marmelos, Symplocos racemosa, Symplocos
alstonia, Butte frondosa, Nerium coronarium,
and Nelumbium speciosum are called amhasthadi
and tbey are pustulant, and are beneficial in
fractured bones.
XXIV. Pustulants : Ficus bengalensis, Eicus
gloremata, Eicus religiosa, Eicus infectoria, Bassia
latifolia, Spondias mani,nfera, Terminalia arjuna,
Mangifera indica, Mangifera sylvatica, Andro-
pogon acicularis, Cinnamomum tamala, Eugenia
coryrabosa, Buclmnania latifolia, Glycyrrbiza
glabra, Picrorrbiza kurroa, Mimusops elengi,
Nauclea cadamba, Zizypbus jujuba, Diospyros
embryosterus, Boswellia serrata, Symplocos
racemosa, Symplocos alstonia, Semicarpus
anacardium, Butea frondosa, and Cedrela toona
are called 'nyagrodhddi' and they are pustulants
and beneficial in the reunion of the fractured
bones and are vaginal disinfectants.
XXV. Antijjyretics : Tinospora cordifolia.
THERAPEUTICS 469
Azadirachta indica, Coriandrum sativum, Santa-
num album and Prunus padus are called
*gmluohyckW and tbey are febrifuge, stomacbic
and relieve eructation, anorexia, polydipsia and
hyperemia.
XXVI. Refrigerants : Nyrapbasa stellata,
Nympb^a rubra, Nympbasa alba, Nympbsea
odorata, Nympbsea cierulea, Nelumbium spe-
ciosum and Glycyrrbizaglabra are called *«</!paZac?i*
and are refrigerant, antitoxic, bematinic, anti-
emetic, and relieve heart diseases and epilepsy.
XXVII. Oxidizers: Cyperus rotundas,
Curcuma longa, Terminalia cbebula, Pbyllantbus
emblica, Terminalia belerica, Saussurea aurica-
lata, Acorus calamus, Stepbania hermanifolia,
Picrorrbiza kurroa, Pongamia glabra, Aconitum
heteropbyllum, Elettaria cardamomum, Semicar-
pus anacardium and Plumbago zeylanica are
called ^mustddi^ and tbey are oxidizing agents
(reducing pblegma) stimulating digestion,increas-
ing the secretion of milk ( in woman ) and act
as disinfectants in vaginal diseases.
XXVIII. Astringent antiseptics : Terminalia
cbebula, Terminalia belerica, and Pbyllantbus
embelica are known as trlphala and they are
benelicial in gonorrhea, skin-diseases, in some
eye-troubles and they are stomachic.
470 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
XXIX. Stomaohics : Piper longum, Piper
nigrum and Zingiber zerumbet are called triJcatu
and they are oxidizing agents and are beneficial
in phlegmatic disposition, adiposis, diabetes, skin-
diseases, glandular swelling, and anorexia.
XXX. Stomachics : Phyllanthus emblicay
Terminaliachebula, Piper longum and Plumbago
zeylancia are called amalahyadi* and they are
tonic, stimulating, febrifuge and beneficial to
the eyes.
XXXI. Metallic salts : Tin, lead, silver, iron
and gold (salts), and iron-oxide are called t7'apadi
and they are bacteri-cidal, antitoxic and beneficial
in anemia and gonorrhea. ( Tin compounds
are no more used in modern medicine except as
filings though in former times stannum oxidatum
and butyrum stanni, were popular. Lead oxide,
unguentiim plumbi iodidi, and various other salts
and preparations of lead are in use, usually for
external application. Copper likewise has various
external therapeutic uses. The oleate of copper
is an admirable astringent, antiseptic and anti-
parasitic prepartion, especially valuable in various
forms of tinea trichophytesis ; copper sulphate
in solid stick is effectively used as a surperficial
caustic in indolent ulcers, exuberant granulations,
and in syphilitic and other sores in the mouth
THERAPEUTIC 47 1
and the throat. Silver nitrate in weak solutions;:
has been used externally as an astringent caustic
and internally in nervous disorders with marked
benefit. But as it leaves a : dark stain on the
skin, argentum Crede is preferred by many,
as the lactate and citrate of silver is claimed to
possess the power of penetrating the entire
organism and effecting a general disinfection of
the entire organism.. Argonin, an organic combi-
nation of silver with casein, soluble; in water, but
non-irritant, has been lately introduced in the
market and is claimed to be antidotal to the
gonococcus. Argyrol, another non-irritant combi-
nation, is used in 2 p. c. solution in gonorrheal
eye-diseases. Various iron preparations ?ive still in
vogue and administered internally to supply iron
to hemosrlobin in its deticiencv as in anemia.
Gold and sodium chloride has marked bactericidal
powers, resembling mercuric chloride and
internally in very small doses it acts upon the
ijflandular structures of the stomach and the
liver, stimulating nutrition and assimilation ;
but in larger doses it produces violent gastro-
enteritis without salivation or ulceration).
XXXII. Antiparasitics : Lac, Cassia fistula,
Holarrhena antidysenterica, Nerium odorum,
Myrica sapida, Curcuma longa, Berberis asiatica,
'i^72 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Azardirachta indica Alstouia, scbolaris,Jasminum
grandiflorum and Ficus hefcerophylla are called
*lahsacU* and they are of astringent, bitterish
sweetish taste and are antiparasitical.
XXXIII. Tonics : The roots of Trilobus
terrestris, Solanum indica, Solanum xanthocar-
pum, Uraria logopodiodes, Desmodium trilobus,
are known as 'pancha-mTda* and they are of
astringent sweet-bitterish taste and are restora-
tive tonics.
XXXIV. Stomachics : The roots of Aogle
raarinelos, Premna serratifolia Calosanthes indica,
Stereospermum suaveolens and Gmelina arborea
are called large ^pancha-mJila' and they are
stomachics of slightly bitter-sweetish taste.
XXXV. Oxidizers : The five snaall roots and
the five large roots, are called together 'dasa-
mula' and they are stomachic and febri-f uge.
XXXVI. Antiseptics : The roots of Batatas
paniculata, Iclmocarpus frutescens, Curcuma
longa, Tinospora cordifolia, and Gymnema
sylbestre are called ^vall'i-panchamula\ The
roots of Carissa carandas, Tribulus terrestris,
Barleria cristata, Asparagus racemosus and
Hygrophila spinosa are called ^kantaka pancha-
Qiiula'. These two ^pavbohoimulm'' relieve inflam-
mation and gonorrhea.
THERAPEUTICS 473
XXXVII. Diuretics : The roots of Poa
cynosuroides, Saccharum spontaneum, Phragmi-
tes communis, Imperata cylindrica and Saccha-
rum officinarum are called *trna pcmcha-miila'
and if given with milk, they are diuretic and
cure urinary troubles." Susruta I. 38. 2-36 ^'\
187. ^^t^^ ^^f^'^^^^m *r^f^ i '^mi — f^t^f^j^T U'^\<\
474 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Emetics : *'Randia dumetorum, Wrightia
antidysenterica, Andropogoa serrata, CitruUus
^rar: ^^# '^'f^ i
THEllAPEUTICS 475
colocyntliis, Luffa pentandra, Luffa amara,
Sinapis alba, Embelia ribes, Piper longum,
^MrT^-^TT^^-^^^-gH^r^i^r^l^^i; ^'5 =€Kt ifer i
n<\M^H'\\ wM'^V'^fwq^: II i^
476 AKCIENT HINIHJ MEDICINE
Pongamia glabra, Cassia tora, Bauliiuia varie-
gata, Cordia niyxa, Melia azadraclita, Withania
^ft^f^: fqqr^^ 'CWfq^Tfft 1"!: I
f^^STTRt ^r# f^f^^W^'T cT?TT II Ro
'^remfft ^r?-^fl'^ ^Tf^fiqig II '^^
THERAPEUTICS 477
somnifera, Rumex vesicarius, Pentapetes
phoenicea, Clitorea ternatea, Crotolaria verru-
'?ir»ra^Tf^ft^^ arm; ^^5^Tq?'. i
478 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
cosa, Coccinea indica, Acorus calamus, Pyro-
theca lagenaria and Plumbago zeylanica are
emetics. And of them, fruits are to be used of
the plants mentioned above up to Cassia tora,
and from Crodia myxa roots are to be employed.
^cTSf* fqxiaii^sT i"^' ^^t^ II ^'^
i^^ig^g^''^ q^^ TffT ^1 II ^^
^m^ ^^^^^ ^^^^rf^sTTar^: ii ^«
^^^'^^fr "^^ ^^%t^U'\m'T\ II ^at
"^m: ^gW: =€)^ 5fiw^^ f^R^cf II \^
THERAPEUTICS 479
Purgatives : Iporaoea turpetliura, Ipomoae
nil, Baliospermum montanum, Salvinia cucul-
lata, Jasminum sambac, Andropogon acicularis,
Gymnema sylvesre, Lagenaria vulgaris, Argy-
reia speciosa, Euphorbia neriifolia, Cleome
felina, Plumbago zeylanica, Achyranthes aspera,
Poa cynosuroides, Saccharum spontaneum, Sym-
plocos racemosa, Mallotus philippenensis, Tri-
chosanthes dioica, Stereospei'mum suaveolens,
Areca catechu, Terminalia chebula, Pliyllanthus
emblica, Terminalia belerica, Indigofera tincto-
ria, Cassia fistula, E-icinus communis, Guilan-
dina bonducella, Euphorbia neriifolia, Alstonia
scholaris, Calatropis gigantea and Cardiosper-
mum halicacabum are purgatives. And of
them roots should be used of the plants up to
Saccharum spontaneum, the bark from symplo-
tjos racemosa to stereospertnum suaveolens,
the pigmented granules of the fruit of mallotus
philippenensis, the fruits from Areca catechu to
E-icinus communis, the leaves of Guilandina
bonducella and Galotropis gigantica, and the
gum-resins ( milky exudations ) of the rest.
Einetios and purgatives : Luifa araara,
Stereospermum suaveolens, AnJropOii^on acicu-
laris, Lufffi pentandra, and Memordica Oharan-
tica are emetics and purgatives combined.
480 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE .
En^liines : Piper longara, Embelia ribes,
Acliyrantlies aspera, Moriiiga pterygosperma,
Sinapis alba, Albizzia lebbek, Piper nigrum,
Neriuni oclorum, Coccinea iudica, Clitorea terna-
tea^ Achyranthes fruticosa, Acorus calamus^
Cardiospermum halicacabura, Poagamia
glabra, Calotropis gigantea, Calotropis procera.
Allium sativum, Aconitum lieterophyllum,
Zingiber officioale, Pinus webbiana, Gar-
cinia xantliocbymus, Ocimum sanctum, Oci-
mum album, Balanites roxburgliii, Gymuema
sylvestre, Citrus raedica, Salvadora oleoides,
Salvadora persica, Jasminura grandiflorum^
Shorea robusta, Borassus flabelliformis, Bassia
latifolia, lac, assafoetida, sodium chloride, wine,
cow's urine and extract of cow's dung (ammoni-
um) are errhines. Of these fruits should be taken
from Piper longum to Piper nigrum, roots from
Nerium odorum, bulbs from Allium sativum to
Zingiber officinale, leaves from Pinus webbiana
to Ocimum album, the bark from Balanites
roxburghiana to Gymuema sylvestre, tlie flowers
of the next three plants and the extracts of the
following next three ; lac and assfoetida are
resinous exudates, sodium chloride an earthly
matter ( mineral substance ), and tlje cow's-
THERAPEUTICS 481
urine and the dung are excretory products."
Susnital. 39. 2-5' '\
Saccharine drugs : The Asclepias ( the JcakoU
group, Susruta I. 38. 17 led by Gymnema
balsimicum), milk, butter, fat, bone-marrow,
Oryza sativa, Oryza praecox, Hordeum hexa-
^^ II ^l
WKm ?m II 8
3:
31
482 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
stichon, Triticum aestivum, phaseolus radiatus,
fructus Trapa bispinosa, Scrypus kysoor,
•Cucumis sativus, Cucumis melo, Cucumis
anguinus, Lagenaria vulgaris,Cucumis utilismus,
Strychnos potatorum, Citrus aurantium, Bucha-
nania latifolia, Nelumbium speciosiim, Gmelina
arborea, Biissia latifolia, Vitis vinifera, Phoenix
sylvetris, Mimusops indica, Borassus flabelli-
formi, Cocos nucifera, Saccharum officinarum,
Sida cordifolia, Mucuna pruriens, Batatas pani-
■culata,Oxystelma esculeBtum, Tribulus terrestris,
Sanseviera zeylanica, Eoenicum vulgare and
Cucurbita pepo contain saccharine substances.
Acids : Punica granata, Phyllanthus embe-
lica, Citrus raedica, Spondias raangifera, Peronia
^lephantum, Carissa carondas, Peucedanum sowa,
Zizyphus jujuba, Tamarindus indicus, Mangifera
^alvatica, Diospyros embryosterus, fructus
Calamus rotang, Artocarpus lakucha, Rumex
vesicarius, Citrus bergamia, curdled milk ( lactic
acid content ), whey, sour wine, sour gruel,
fermented rice and barley water and other
acetous fermentation products belong to the
acid group.
Salines : Rock-salt, carbonate of lime (from
incinerated shells and the salt is recovered by
lixiviation), soda, potash, ^raumaka' ( salt made
THERAPEUTICS 483^
from the Wcxter of the Roma lake, now known
cis Sambar ), sea-salt, 'pakrlma' ( salt obtained
from the ashes of the grain spikes of barley ),
caustic soda, magnesia, alkaline earth ( contain-
ing sodium carbonate ) etc. belong to the
saline class.
Pimgents : Piperacea) ( led by Piper longum
of the 'pippaW group 1. 38. 10 ), the Ocimum
group ( I. 38. 8. ), vitex negando, Moringa
pterygosperma, Allium sativum, Ciiinamomum
camphora, Datura fastuosa, Cedrus deodara.
Piper auranticum, Vernoniu anthelminthica,
•Canscora decussata, Balsamodendron mukula,
Cyperus rotund us, Gloriosa superba, Calosanthes
indica, Sesbania grandiflora, Salvadora persica,
•etc. and the gum- resins of tlie Shorea robusta
-group ( 1. 38. 5 ) are pungent.
Bitters: The Cassia fistula ( I. 38. 3 ) and
Tinospora cordifolia (I. 38. 21- ) groups, and
Hydroctyle asiatica, tops of Calamus rotang,
•Curcuma- longa, Berberis asiatica, Holarrhena
antidysenterica, Capparis trifolia, Placourtia
<jataphracta, Alston ia scholaris, Solanum indicuna^
Solanum xanthocarpum, Canscora decussata,
Salvinia cucuUata, Ipomoea tarpethura, Luffa
amara, Momordica myxta, solanum melongena,
Oapparis aphylla, Nerium odorum, Jasminum
4iS4i ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
grandiflorum, Andropogon acicularis, Acliyran-
thes aspera, Ficus heterophyllum, Saraca indica,
Herpestis raonieria, Boerhaavia diffusa, Tragia
involucrata, and Cardiospermum halicacabum
are bitter.
Astringents : The groups led by Picus
bengalensis ( I. 38. 23 ), Aglaia roxburghiana
( I. 38. 21 ), Stapbania hernandifolia ( 1. 38.
22 ), Symplocos racemosa, Terminalia chebula,
Terminalia belerica, Pbyllantbus embelica,
Boswellia serrata, Eugenia jambu, Mangifera
indica, Mimusops elengi, Diospyros embropteris,
Strycbnos potatorum, Stereospermum suaveolens,
Earleria cristata, Bauhinia variegata, Caelogyne
ovalis, Symplocos racemosa, Beta maritima, Marsi-
lia quadrifolia etc., Oryza montana etc., Pbaseo-
lus mungo etc., these in brief belong to the
astringent class. "Susruta 1.42. 15-20^^^
Alkalies : Alkalies are obtained from the ashes
of the following plants. *'Holarrhena antidysen-
terica, Butea frondosa, Shorea robusta, Eiythrina
fulgens, Terminalia belerica, Cassia fistula,
Symplocos racemosa, Asclepia gigantea, Eu-
phorbia antiquorum, Achyranthes aspera, Bigno-
nia suaveolens, Methonica superba, Justicia
ganderussa, Musa paradisiaca, Plumbago zeyla-
nica, Guilandina bonducella, Jasminum augusti-
folium, Nerium odorum, Alstonia scholaris,
Prerana spinosa,Abrus precatorius and Trichosan-
thes dioeco." Susriita I. 11. 7^°^.
wi^^ sRi^^'^i^'Ji l-'F^M(i^^^^T^T^T'f^w^1f*T ^ra^Kif^^ insist:
WZ-^ ^•. 11 X"^
^pr g^Tit^T fcrat ^: II K
^^tfw'fxnrtiriTgfH^^^^^r^ ^?ni:wT^gt ^?t^^ ^'^^^J^ ^«tt^
486 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Antiparasital Oils : "The oils of Azadira-
chta iiidica, Linum usitatissimum, Carthamus
tinctorius, Kaphanussativus, Andropogon serrata,.
Holarrbena antidj-senterica, Luffa amara, Calo-
tropis gigantea. Mallotus philipenensis, Butea
frondosa, Elettaria cardamomum, Salvadora
persica, Pongamia glabra. Balanites roxburghii,
Moringa ptervirospermuni, Sinapis alba, Cleome
viscosa, Embelia ribes and Cardiospermum I
halicacabum are acrid, irritant, pungent and
they are beneficial in ^vayu, kapha\ parasital ( or
intestinal worms ), or syphilitic skin lesions and
headache." Siisrutal. 45. 101^"'.
Ijiuretic and laxative oils : "The oils of
Ophelia chirayta, Eugenia dalbergioides, Termi-
nalia belerica, Cocos nucifera, Zizyphus jujuba,^
Salvadora persica, Caelagyne ovalis, Buchanania
latifolia, Bauhinia variegata, Gynandropsis^
pentaphylla, Cucumis sativus, Cucumis melo,
Cuciirbita pepo, and Benicassa cerifera are
sweetish, sedative, non-irritant, diffusive, laxative,
diuretic and dyspeptic.
THERAPEUTICS 487
Tlie oils of Bassia latifolia, Gmelina arborea
and Butea frondosa are sweetish astringent
and they remove the excess of *kapha and
'pitta'.
Bactericidal emetics and purgatives : The
oils of Hydrocarpus kurzii ( tuvara is popularly
known as ^chaidmoogi'o' ), and Seraicarpus ana-
cardium are of astringent sweetish bitter taste,
are calorific, emetic, purgative and bactericidal^
and are specific in leprosy, adiposis and syphilis-
( sypliilitic cutaneous manifestations ).
Oxidizing oils : Tlie oils of turpentine-
obtained from oleoresins ( by distillation ) of
Pinus longifolia, Cedrus deodara, Tithymallus
antiquorium (?), Dalbergia sissoo and Aquilaria
agallocha are of astringent bitterish pungent
taste and are beneficial in indolent ulcers, intes-
tinal worms, catarrhal affection ( of the respira-
tory tract ) and scrofula.
Antiaeptic Oils : The fruit-oils of Lagena-
ria vulgaris, Mangifera sylvetica, Baliospermum
montanum, Salvinia cucullata, Vernonia anthel-
minthica, Stereo'spermum suaveolens, Vitex
negundo, Mallatus philippenensis and Andropo-
gon aciculatus are of bitterish-pungent astringent
taste, are purgative and are beneficial in intesti-
i88 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
nal worms, skin lesions and indolent ulcers."
Susrutal. 45. 106-110^ ^^
The therapeutic value of these drugs is also
significant. Many of them are of unquestioned
effectiveness in the symptomatic treatment of
the diseases for'which they have been described.
It is not possible here to go into details as to the
chemical principles contained in them, for it will
not only encumber the book with an extraneous
subject, but many of them have not yet been
analized in a modern laboratory. However, in
the popular pragmatic test, they have shown
their fitness of survival in competition with the
foreign drugs which unmistakably demonstrates
192. f^'CIcTf?m^TSf%51i^-f^"icM-5TlKtT--€i^r^^#^'T^^
"^ffT II ^o^
THERAPEUTICS 489
their therapeutic worth. * Opotheraphy was
known in its crude form ( Charaka I.
1- 35 ). Of course it is too much to expect
that it was known that the activating principles
of the glands — the hormones, were not destroyed
by gastric digestion or boiling at ordinary tem-
perature, or they knew to extract chemically
pure thyroidin, adrenalin, pancreatin or spermin,
but they prescribed, never-the-less the testicles
of goat and cock as potent aphrodisiac ( Charaka,
YII. 2. 13.'^^ ; YII. 2. 28. i«* ). It is very
* Those who are further interested in the subject,
will find in 'A Comparative Hindu Materia Medica*
which is under preparation, and which contains their
synonyms, expressions in the vernacular provincial
dialects, Arabic, Persian, Latin, Greek, English, French
and German, their botanical order and classification,
chemical analysis when known and their popular
therapeutic uses, as well of the allied genera in other
countries.
193. \^^ ^^-m gw* •^TssT^'cwTTi?: i
194. clH ^'^'[^ T^^ cTW^ ^TWr*TfWT I
^ ?^'^^^^' TOii' 151^^ «t: II
490 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
likely that the biliary calculus ( rochana ) was^
given in intestinal putrefaction, in case of in-^
sufficiency of biliary salts, and the cow's urine was
used in cooking the alkalies in order to add the
ammonium to the alkalies to make them more
caustic ( SusriUa I. 11. 6 ), and the dessiccatcd
cow's dung was either used as a fuel for cautery
or as heat-absorbent in which some liquid prepa-
rations were kept for ripening.
VII. SUHSEHY.
*'There are eight kinds of surgical operations,
namely, excision ( chhedya ), incision ( hhedya )
scarification ( lekJiya ), puncturing ( vedya )^
exploration {esya)^ extraction {aharya)^ drainage-
( visrdvya ) and suturation ( s'ivya ). Eor any
of these operations, the surgeon must have-
the following materials ready at hand and
at his disposal, namely the hlunt surgical
instruments (yantra), sharp instruments {sastra)^
caustics ( ksara ), cautery ( agni ), prohes (salaka),.
speculum {srnga)^ bottle- gourd (alam)^ bougie
{jamvavaustha)^ cotton (pichu)^ pad or lint (plota)^
silkworm gut {sutra), sponge (^«^r« = leaf ? ),,
bandage ( patta ), honey, clarified butter, fat,
milk, oils, irrigator {tarpana)^ disinfectants
(kasaya), liniments {alepana)^ paste or ointment
{kalka) and other auxiliary requisites." Susruta
I. 5. 3 ''\
195. cTM si^^ffJir^r^^^T I ff?qsfT — t?j' W3,' %w ^^^^flr?Taf
492 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
"There are one hundred and one kinds of blunt
instruments [yantra)^ of which the hand is the
most important, for the hand controls the appli-
cation of all the (surgical) instruments and without
it (an adept hand), they can not he manipulated.
Whatever (foreign body) causes pain to the body
and the mind, is called 'salya' and the instru-
ments tbat are necessary to extract the 'salt/as*
are called '■yantras*. Yantras are of six kinds,
namely (1) Cruciform forceps {svastika yantra),
(2) piucer-like forceps (sandamsa yantra), (3)
pick-lock forceps {tala yantra), (4) cannula {nd(U
yantra), (5) probes isalaka yantra) and (6) acces-
sory appliances {iipayantra). Of them the cruci-
form forceps are of forty kinds, pincer-like
forceps of twenty kinds, pick-lock forceps two
kinds, cannulata twenty kinds, probes twenty-
eights kinds and accessory appliances are of twen-
ty-five kinds. They are usually made of (steel)
iron, but, (if it be^ not available, they can be
also made; of similar (hard) metal. Their blades
are shaped like those of the carnivorous animals,
deer, or birds. Therefore likewise they should
be manufactured, or according to the rules in
the surgical text-books, or according to the in-
struction of an expert of surgical instruments.
They should be of normal size, and according
TTJRGERY 493
to the needs, either with sharp edges or with
polished curbed ends, of firm structure, pleasant
appearance and with a good handle.
Swastika Forceps : — The swastika forceps^
should be eighteen fingers' breadth long (about
12 inches) and their blades shaped like the jaws
of a \ion(swiJta : 1. Perguson's lion-jawbone-hol-
ding forceps — osteophore — with strong blades and
teeth to crush and divide bone) ; tiger {vyaghra :
2. A bone-gnawing forceps with double-jointed,
short, concave blades, having sharpened edges) ;
wolf {vvTia : 3. Eerguson's bone-holding forceps,
having long, strong handles, and short, straight
or curved jaws serrated on their internal faces) ;,
hyena {faraJcsii : 4. Parabeuf's forceps with
strong grasping teeth all along the inner surface
of each blade) ; bear {bhalluka : 5. Bulldog for-
ceps with sliding catch, concave, expanded and
fenestrated extremities and at the tips, fine
teeth) ; panther {dv'ljp'i : 6. Gross's bullet for-
ceps with one blade hooked and the other fene-
strated and toothed) ; cat {mclrjmxc : 7. Mouse-
tooth forceps, with one or two fine points
at the tip of each blade, fitting into hollows
between the points on the opposite side) ; jackal
{srgala : 8. Bone forceps, used for seizing and
tearing away fragments of bone) ; deer {fiarvna ;,
494 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
"9. Bedford's obstetric forceps, short-handled^
movable-jointed and having? lo^oj curved, fene-
strated blades) ; stag [ervvariika ; 10. Bullet-
forceps, single-jointed, having long delicate
blades, the tips being expanded and concave on
their internal side to correspond to the spherical
shape of the bullet, or the tips are hooked, so
that they may be forced into the bullet) ; crow
(kaka), heron (kaskn), osprey {kiirara), golden jay
(ohasa)j vulture (bhasa)^ hawk {sasaghcit'i), owl
{liika)^ kite (chllU), black vulture {si/ena), falcon
igvdhi^a)^ crane {kraiubcha) , ''vrngaraja, anjali-
karna, avabhailj</na^ nandimukha' etc. (Dental
forceps, double-jointed, having long handles of
various curves, and s'lOrt jaws set at various
angles and shapes to hold and extract different
teeth in the upper and the lower jaw, resembling
-the beak of birds ). The blades ( of the swastika
forceps ) should be joined by a lentil-like
( Ervum lens ) joint, and the handles should be
curved like the elepliant-driver's hook. The
'swastika forceps' are used in extracting foreign
bodies impacted in bones ( foreign bodies were
usually shar{)-pointed iron-arrows, used in ancient
Indian warfare, and though the comparative
forceps, mentioned above, may be similar, they
•can not be the sauie, as it needed different kinds
SURGERY 495
>of forceps to extract sliarp-poiuted, possibly
thin-plated steel-arrows, impacted in bones ; the
•comparison has only been made to give an idea
of the similarity of the construction of the
forceps, used in ancient and modern surgery ).
PlnoerUke Forceps : The pincer-like forceps
( smidamsa yantra ) are of two kinds, jointed and
with sliding catcli-spring. They should be 16
fino^ers' breadth long ( about 10 inches ) and
they are used in extracting foreign bodies in
the skin, tissues, vessels and nerves ( sira )
and tendons.
Picklock Forceps : Pick-lock forceps should
be made 12 fingers' breadth long ( about 8
■inches ), like the jaw of tish ( dolphin ), serrated
either on one blade or both the blades and they
are used in extracting foreign bodies from the
^ural and nasal passages ( Alligator forceps,
having delicate, straight or curved wide-opening
jaws, for use in narrow canals ).
lubiilar instruments : Tubular instruments
( uadi yantra ) are many and they serve various
purposes. Some of them have opening at one
end, and others at both ends ( or some are single-
barrelled, and others are double-barrelled ). They
are used for the extraction of foreign bodies
from vessels ( Tubul ir forceps, with long and
496 , ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
slender blades, intended for use through a cannu-
la or other tubular instrument ), for the explora-
tion of ( internal ) lesions ( Bougie, a cylindrical
instrument, resembling a Sound, usually more
or less flexible and yielding, and which is
employed in the diagnosis and treatment of
stricture of tubular passages, such as the urethra
or the rectum ; 'Probe ^ a slender rod of silver or
other flexible metal, with blunt bulbous tip, and
which is used for exploring sinuses, fistulas or
other cavities ; Sound, an elongated, cylindrical,
usually curved instrument of metal and which is
used for exploring the bladder or other cavi-
ties of the body, or for dilating strictures
of the urethra or other canal ; with the
general use of electricity, many devices have
been perfected, by introducing a tiny incandes-
cent bulb at the end of the tube and a reflector
at the top, which projects the exact condition of
the internal organs as larynx, pharynx or
urethra, through laryngoscope, pharyngoscope
and urethroscope ), for suction of fluids ( as
Catheter^ for draining away urine from the blad-
er, in case of its retention from any cause ;
or Trocar for withdrawing fluid from any cavity,
as in hydrocele ), and for facilities for other
operations ( as Director in lithotomy ). The
SURGE RT 497
l)readth and the length of the tubular instrument
should harmonize with the narrow canal ( in
which it is to be used ). The tubular instruments
that are used in fistula-in-ano, gummata, tumors,
abscesses, for injection, irrigation, in hydrocele,
ascites, for fumigation, in stricuture of urethra,
and stricture of the rectum, and other instru-
ments such as 'alavu yantra^ ( bottle-gourd ? )
and speculum will be mentioned later.
Frobes : The pi.obes ( salaka yantra ) have
various uses ; their dimension and their length
are dependent on their requirements. They h^.ve
their ends shaped like an earthworm, the feathered
part of an arrow, the hood of a snake, or a fish-
hook, and there are two varieties of each kind. They
are used for exploration ( esana, such as Bougie,
probe or sound ), retraction ( vyuhana^ as by a
E<etractor ), grafting ( chalcma ) and extraction
(^aharana, by a tubular forceps ). Eor extraction
of foreign bodies from vessels, two salaka forceps .
{ Haemostatic forceps ) are used, whose ends are
slightly flattened like those of a lentil ( Ervum
lens ). Six are used for the drainage of pus
having ends covered with cotton. For the
application of caustics, three kinds are used
whose ends are shaped like a spoon with a conical
-cavity. Por cautery six kinds are used of which
32
498 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the orifice is shaped like the fruit of Eugenia
jambolama, and the other like that of the ele-
phant-driver's goad. For the removal of the
nasal polypi, one kind is used whose orifice is-
shaped like half the stone of Ziziphus jujuba, of
conical formation with sharp edges (Meyer's ring
knife or Luc's forceps ). One kind is used for
the application of ointment ( in the narrow aural
or nasal passages ) whose both extremities are
shaped like a pea or a flowering-bud (as in Tilley's
Burr ). Por the urethral passage one kind is
used whose circumference is like the flower-stalk,
of Jasminum grandiflorum.
Accessory Appliances : — The accessory appli-
ances are thread, twine, bandage, skin-gloves,
(^charmmanta), birch-skin ( «;aZZ;aZa = bark ),.
( tendril of ) creeper ( for gently dislocating
foreign bodies from delicate sensitive organs or
abscess cavities ), lint, a large rounded stone,
hammer ( for loosening foreign bodies impacted
in bone ), the palm of the hand, the sole of the
foot, finger, tongue, tooth, nail, mouth ( for
suction of the fluid as in ascites ), hair, horse-hair
( for suturation ), a branch ( of a tree, for extrac-
ting foreign bodies, from superficial wounds ),
expectoration, fluxing ( causing discharge in the
eyes or throat to remove foreign bodies ), cheer-
SURGERY 499
fulness, loadstones ( used for finding out whether
there are iron fragments in the wounds, as
loadstones possess polarity and are attracted by-
iron ), caustics, cautery and medicines ( including
disinfectants ).
These instruments can be applied all over the
body, any of the limbs, joints, viscera and vessels
( including nerves ).
Extraction ( of foreign bodies with pulling :
nirghatana), injection (of disinfectants in the blad-
der or enema in the rectum, purana) : bandaging
( vandhana ), retraction (of the lips of the wound
by a ^Retractor' for inspection, extraction of the
foreign body and dii^miQQiioii, {vyuhana) : replace-
ment ( of the lips of the wound in their proper
place : varttana), grafting (principally cutaneous,
to cover the wounded scar : Chalana), wrenching
( of a foreign body, with a forceps to facilitate its
extraction : vivarftana), dilatation (of any canal or
cavity by a 'speculum' for exploration : vivarana)^
pressing ( of the wounded parts to loosen the
foreign body, or for the drainage of the pus, if
suppuration has taken place : p'idana), dihrnieciiQU
( of the wound, canal or cavity : visodhana ),
extraction ( with force : viJcarscma ), pulling out
( aJiarana ), pulling gently to and fro ( to loosen
the foreign body : anchhana ), elevation ( of the
500 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
foreign body, in order to loosen it : unnamana ),
depression ( of the fereign body : vinamana ),
pressure ( by manipulation of neighboring tissu-
es : hhahjana ), suction ( by a tube of the fluids,
as in hydrocele or ascites : acJiTisana ) explora-
tion ( of canal or sinus : esana ), splitting up
(a foregn body, to facilitate its removal : darana)^
straightening ( of the foreign body, in order to
loosen it : rjiiharana ), irrigation (of the wound
with an ''Irrigator' : praksalana ), blowing dis-
infectant powders, vulneraries or errhines to
deep seated wound, narrow canal or nasal pas-
sage : pradhamana ), and rubbing ( with hair-
brush any wound cavity : 'pramarjjana ) — these
twenty-four are the uses of the 'yantra* ( blunt
instruments ).
As the foreign bodies can be of infinite varie-
ties, so a wise surgeon must intelligently choose
his instrument for each individual case.
Defects in Instruments : Too cumbersome or
light, long or short appliances, the blades lacking
the power of grasping, or grasping it badly, bent,
shaky, too-high-jointed or loose-jointed, loose-
bladed or loose-tipped appliances are the twelve
defects in ^yantra* ( blunt instruments ).
The instrument that is free from these de-
Infects, and which is eighteen fingers' breadth long,
SURGERY 501
is the only proper one, which the surgeon must
select in surgic;^.! operations. The surgeon shall
extract, according to the surgical code, the visi-
ble missile ( salya ) by the ^ Lion jaw forceps* and
the invisible missiles by ^Jcanlca-mukha'' ( hei^on-
heahecl forceps = dental forceps ).
Among the ^yantras\ ^heron-heahed forceps^
is the best, as it can be easily introduced every-
where, and easily withdrawn with the extracted
missile". Susruta\. 7. 2-18 ^'\
qf^'Jir ^^^^rf^T ^i^^m ^T^rai: ^r^airfsT ci^frf ct?reT^t5fii|iii?Ti^qt^i^5?f-
l??Tf^ 'g^qif'i ^»r?Tf% =^ ^i^?f ii a.
503 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Sharp Instruments : Sharp instruments
( sastra ) are of twenty kinds. They are as fol-
lows : ( 1 ) Cij'cular knife ( mandalagra ) ;
■ aj^r^ra^i^fq ^Hrn^Rif'!! ^5TTwr5!5Trf% <T5TratJiqfTirT¥lt^r'5i
ir5fiRqffTl!qf^?T'!I^r«TrcT 11 \°
^^ ^^ ^^^x^ <i^\^i[ m^^^ h u
SURGERY 503
( 2 ) Saw ( hara-patra^ resembling hand, that is,
consisting of u thin blade with sharp teeth in
the edge, as the hand has fingers ) 5 ( 3 )
Lancet ( vrddhi-patra^ a short, wide, sharp-poin-
ted and two-edged blade, resembling the leaf of
^vrddhi' — Batata edulis ) ; ( 4 ) Ca?ialicular
Jcnife ( nakha-sastra, resembling nail-j)arer ) ;
( 5 ) Gum lancet ( mudriJca, a short lancet of the
size and shape of the last phalanx of the index
finger ) ; ( 6 ) Thumb lancet ( utpala-patra^ re-
sembling the petal of Nymphsea stellata ) ; ( 7 )
Amptitating knife ( arddha-dara, a single- edged
501 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
cuttiog instrument ) ; ( 8 ) Needle ( sucM^ ?t
slender, sharp-pointed instrument, used for punc-
turing tbe tissues, for guiding the thread in su-
turing or for passing a ligature round an artery);
( 9 ) Bistotu^y ( kusa-patra^ a long, narrow-bladed
knife, shaped like the 'kusa' grass — Eragrotis
cynosuroides ) ; (10) Hawk-hill scissor {ati-mukha,
an instrument with two blades, held together by
a rivet, moving on the pivot and cutting against
each other, resembling the bill of 'at'i'' bird — Tur-
dus Ginginianus ) ; (11) Scissor {sarain-mukhaf
resembling the long and slender beak of heron ) ;
{ 12 ) Concave bistoury ( antaramukha, having
curved blade inside ) ; (13) Trocar [trikurchchaka^.
an instrument for withdrawing fluid from a cavity
or for use in paracentesis, consisting of a metal
tube — 'camiula', open at both ends, in which fits
a rod with a sharp three-cornered tip, which is
withdrawn after the instrument has been pushed
into the cavity ; trocar is derived from Prench
Hrois^ — three, -f- 'carre' — side, having the same
meaning of ' tri-kurchchaka'' ) ; (14) Lenticular
knife ( kutharika, an axe-like knife, resembling-
cow's tooth ) : ( 15 ) Aspirating needle ( vr'ihi'
mukha, a hollow needle, used for withdrawing
fluid from a cavity, an aspirator tube being
attached to one end, the other end, shaped like
SURGERY 505
the rice grain, being thrust into the cavity) ; (16)
Iredectomy knife ( am, an arrow-headed knife,
resembling an owl) ; (17) Scalpel {vetasa-patra)
a pointed, long and slender knife with convex
edge, resembling the rattan leaf ); (18) Hook
(vadisa^ an instrument curved or bent near its tip,
used for fixation of a part or traction ) ; ( 19 )
Scale?' ( danta saiikii^ an instrument to remove
tartar from the teeth ) ; (20) Fine-pointed probe
( esam, used for dilating contracted lacrymal
puncta or examining the lacrymal canals).
Uses : Of them, the Circular Knife and
the Saw can be used for excision and scarifica-
tion ; Lancet, Canalicular Knife, Gum Lancet,
Thumb Lancet and the Amputating Knife for
excision and incision ; Needle, Bistoury, Hawk-bill
Scissor, Scissor, Concave Bistoury and the Trocar
for drainage ( of the fluid cavities ) ; Lenticular
Knife, Aspirating Needle, Iredectomy Knife and
the Scalpel for puncturing ; the Needle can also
be used for puncturing ; Hook and the Scaler
for extraction(scraping of tartar from the teeth
etc. ) ; Eine-pointed Probe for finding out the
passage and the direction of a sinus ; and Needles
for suturation. In these eight kinds of action
the use of 'sash^a' ( sharp instruments ) are
described.
-606 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
The way these instruments shall be handled,
shall be described now. The lancet and other incis-
ing instruments should be held by the top and
the middle of the handle. For scarification, the
Lancet and the Circular Knife should be held
with slightly bent hand. All the drainage
instruments should be held by the top of the
handle. J?or the drainage of the fluid cavities,
children, the aged, the delicately constituted, the
timid, women, kings and the princes, the Trocar
should be employed. Of the Aspirating needle,
the Aspirator should be held in the palm of the
hand, and the needle between the thumb and the
index finger. The handle of the Lenticular knife
should be held in the left hand, and the index
and middle fingers of the right hand should be
pressed upon it during operation. Iredectomy
Knife, Saw and the Fine-pointed Probe should be
held by the root ( middle of the handle ). The
rest of the instruments should be held properly
( as to give the most effective result ).
The shapes of these instruments are indicated
by their nomenclature. And the Canalicular
Knife and the Eine-pointed Probe are eight
fingers' breadth long ( about 5 inches ). Needles
shall be described later. The extremity of the
Hook and the Scaler is slightly curved, and it is
SURGERY 507
«harp like the thorn or fine like the young leaf-
blade of Hordeum liexastichum. The orifice
of the Fine-pointed Probe is like that of an
earthworm. The Gum Lancet is of the size of
the top phalanx of the forefinger. The Scissor
is ten fingers' breadth long ( about 6 inches ).
And the rest of the instruments are about 6
fingers' breadth long ( about 4 inches ).
Good Instrument^ : The instruments which
have good handles, are made of good iron (steel),
are sharp, well-formed, and whose edges are fine
and even, and without indentation, are the best.
Defective Instruments : The instruments that
are bent, blunt, broken, jagged, too cumbersome,
too light, too long or too short, are defective (these
are the eight defects in sharp instruments ) . The
sharp instruments that have the opposite quali-
ties of these, are to be used, excepting that of
the Saw, where the jagged sharpness is necessary
for sawing bones, for which it is used.
Edges of the Instruments : The edge of the
incising instruments should be like the thickness
X)f the tip of Ervum lens, of the scarifying instru-
ments, half the thickness of that of Ervum lens,
of the puncturing and the draining instruments
like that of hair, and of the excising instrument
half the thickness of the tip of hair.
508 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Sterilization of the Instilments : Steriliza-
tion {payana ) of the instruments can be accom-
pliblied in three ways : (1) by caustics ; (2) by
water ( by boiling the instrument in water) ; (3)
by oils (by immersing the instruments in antiseptic
oils ). The instruments that are used in the
excision ( extirpation ) of missiles, foreign bodies
and bone ( saw ) should be sterilized by caustics.
The instruments for the excision and incision of
the tissues should be sterilized in water. The
instruments that are used for the excision of
vessels and tendons, should be sterilized in
( antiseptic and boiling ) oils. Eor sharpening
the instruments, pale, polished stone should be
used, and to prevent the dullness of the edge
( and rusting ), they sliould be incased in a box,
made out of the wood of silk cotton tree ( Bom-
bax heptaphyllum ).
The instruments that are very sharp and
bright, and supplied with good handles and are
of proper size, should only be used in operation."
Susnita I. 8. 2-W\
A ^S »^ /^
SURGERY 509
Lesions that need Excision Operation :
■''Excision ( or extii-pation ) should be performed
iTTf*{I^T W^ ^f5?ts^^^ I sRIlC f^r^^Tf^ I fmWZ ^Mf^-
m wi^ffi ^^ I w{\T^ g q'f 1= ^i^ ii a,
cfl-R ^^¥lf^ ^^TfsT ^^Klf^ ^'Wf^ ^^*TtI%cr^^R1^55\^Kfir*T ^m
aii^^Pq^ II ^ ,
f^^I^r^' ^^fsi^T Tiq^'QT, ^RRi^R^^' aiT'SI^qi^^fflffT II <t
610 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
in fistula-in-ano, tubercles, suppurative tumors^
non-suppurative tumors, gummata, wart, foreign
bodies in bones and tissues, hairy moles, Sarcoma,
tonsillitis, sloughing tendons-muscles and vessels,
tumor of the palate, condylomata, myxoma of
the gullet, chancre, fibroma and myoma.
Lesions that need Incision : Incision (lancing)
should be made in all ( suppurative ) tumors,
except those caused by the derangement of the
three humors ( non-suppurative tumors ), erysipe-
las, oscheopyedema, bubo, diabetic boils, carbun-
cle, galactoposterma ( or mastosyrinx ), pustules
of the penis, stye, pustules of the foot, fistula,
suppurative tonsillitis, suppurative eruption of
the penis, gumma of the cornea, pustular abscess-
es, abscess on the palate, gum-boils, the tumors
or sinuses that develop after suppuration, cyst
formed round tiie nucleus of a calculus, or
any other kind of suppurative tumor.
Lesions that need Sca7nfication : Scarification
should be made in the four forms of throat
inflammation,leucoderma, ranula, inflammation of
the gum, tubercles, lachrymal fistula, epiglottitis.
SURGERY 511
gummata of the throat, psoriatic patches, and
granulations.
Lesions that need JPunctures : Punctures
should be made in cirsoid aneurysm, hydrocele
and ascites.
Lesions that need Probing : Probing should
be made in fistulas, fistulas with foreign bodies,
or those extending sideways.
Lesions that need Extraction : Extraction
should be made in three kinds of gravel, tartar
on the teeth, wax in the ears, calculi, foreign
bodies ( missiles ), mal-presentation of the fetus
and the impacted feces in the rectum.
Lesions that need Lrainage : — Drainage
should be performed in all kinds of (suppurating)
tumors except those that develop by the-
derangement of the three humors (non-suppura-
tive tumors), lepromata, painful abscess, car-
buncle, otorrhea, elephantiasis, toxic blood (blood
in the infected region), furuncle, erysipelas,
cysts, three kinds of chancres (hard, mixed, and
soft chancres), breast-abscess (or fistula), suppura-
tive bubo, pyorrhea, abscess and gummata of the
palate, dental caries (causing suppuration in the
gum), gingivitis, epulis, ulocase, gumboil,
chancre of the lips, and pustules.
Lesions that need Suturation ; — Suturation
^12 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
should only be made in those places which have
been opened and been completely drained off
(the foreign matter), or the fresh woundsnear the
movable joints.
Woimds that are not fit for svturation:
Sutures should not be applied to those wounds
caused by caustics, cautery and toxins, or in
those where there is discharge of gas, or in the
interior of which there is sanies or foreign body.
Tliese should be at first disinfected ; dust, hair,
nails, fragments of bone (any foreign body),
when ^ound in a wound, should be removed
before sutures are applied, as otherwise they are
likely to provoke suppuration and pain. There-
fore they should at first be disinfected. The lips
of the wound then should be raised and placed in
proper apposition, and sutures applied slowly
with the fine cotton thread, or the bark fiber of
Caesalpinia digynia, flax, catgut (smyw = tendon),
hair (horse hair), fibers of Sanseviera zeylanica,
or Tinospora cordifolia, in any of these sutures,
(1) Twisted suture {vellitaka)^ (2) Quilled suture
igoplmikd), (3) Continuous suture {tunna-sevam)^
(4) Interrupted suture ivji^-granthi) or any other
kind best suited to the requirement, and after
the suturation is over, the sewed parts should be
gently pressed by the finger and levelled, In
SURGERY . 513
parts of the body covered with little flesh, or
over joints, a full-curved suture needle, of two
fingers' width long, should be used. Eor fleshy
parts, a straight, three-edged, suture-needle, {
three lingers' breadth long, is proper. In the vital
parts, scrotutn and the abdomen, a half-curved
suture-needle (curved like a bow) is good. These
three varieties of needles should be sharp-pointed,
their body rounded like the flower-stalk of
Aganosma cargophyllatum, and should be cap-
able of easy handling. Sutures should not be
made either too far off or too close to the edges
of the wound. In the former case, lips of the
wound will become painful, and in the latter
case, they may be torn off. Then the stitched
part should be covered with cotton (as a surgical
dressing) or linen (as a lint), and a powder com-
pound of Aglaia roxburghii, antimony sulphide,
Glycerrhiza glabra, and Symplocos racemosa, or
the powder of Boswellia serrata or the ashes of
burnt linen, should be sprinkled over it ( as
antisepsis). Then after proper bandaging, the
patient shall be told the hygienic rules, he will
have to observe." Susruta I. 25. 2-12^^ \
198. #5jT wi'^^ T^\ tfi?^%^^^r^: I
33
514 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Cmistics : — 'Tor particular purposes, of all
sharp or accessory instruments, caustics are the
^rf^ ^ T^^^^ If??: gf^^if?:^!; ii
l^iwnanft^i^ i^ H'^rf^i^^ II
iTi^rai: 'isftJii^ H^ z\ cTi^^ I
gfefift fji^iij^ ^^' ^ ^ MMinftii: I
^fe^mwlf^^t^'lT t "^ f ^T II «
^j^ir^cmt ^f%^: f^T€T qfarf^^ i
t^# ?irll^ ^fs^nfirff^fa^fi^T II
^3^t% ?iw^ 'it^-w'^ TiretsfRT^im II »
twi: faiTT ^f f^^T ^Hf %|^^^^ II a^
ap3iTf% ^^Tivrfg ^^ f^rf^cT ^t ii ^
^[^T f^^: ^^ »Ttg: ^^^tti^ i
^i^r^T ^: tre^T: ^CRT ^rg'^^aisi: II
cf]<5?Jl??m; ^^^Tf*T f^q^^^ 55^^^ I
^^'^TH f^qk ^^^iRd*^ ^ II
^ftft 1^"^^^ ^^^t: ?ifii^'T^^: H'.
SURGERY 515
best (when alkalies in concentrated form (caus-
tics) are brouf?ht into contact with the animal
^^^: €\^^^'. ^■;cTT^ ^'^w^ z\ i
«?a1^^t^ % '? ^ =^^5^5gqTl%fn: ii ^
•qra^*T^=rgr^tf% =^jt% ?t?w ^rt h
tl^ W^* ^T ^^ ^IN^^T ?I^I%cfl I
^^goi ^'^•s^^ ^fxT JI^^3l?Tmfq ^ II
?^cn1^f^T: ^=^€t^Ri: ^^?^T%cn: ii .\
^TT^a?^ wbI^^ «rs§)^ J^,^»f?T^ II ^ ?
516 ANCIENT HIND a MEDICINE
tissues, they enter into chemical combination
with the oxygen present, and thus give rise to an
active necrosis or destructive inflammation ;
alkalies are likewise solvents of albumin ; these
physical and chemical properties render the
caustic alkalies active in producing counter-irri-
tation, and their escharotic effects have been
made use of in the destruction of morbid tissue,
whether of neoplastic or inflammatory origin, and
chronic synovitis). Due to the escharotic pro-
perty of the (concentrated) alkalies, they are
<;alled caustics (ksa}'a). They are acrid, irritant,
pungent, (and their external use causes) destruc-
tion of the tissues ( eschars ), corrosion, disin-
fection, granulation, desiccation, hemostatis,
scarification, ( and their internal administration
cures), intestinal worms, hyperacidity, eructation,
cutaneous lesions, auto-intoxication ; but their
excessive use induces impotence.
Alkalies are of two kinds (concentrated which
is strong, and non-concentrated which is mild),
for external application (strong) and for internal
administration (mild). Their external application
sunaEEY 517
is indicated in lepromes, keloid, ringworm, leuco-
derma, psoriasis guttata, fistula-in-ano, tumors,
indolent ulcers, fistula, condyloma, mole, impe-
tigo, lichen planus, warts, external sores, dermato-
phyte, poison-bites, and gummata ; besides these,
the application of caustics in seven kinds of
mouth diseases (tumor of the tongue, stomatitis
ulcerosa, chancres of the lips and the tongue,
etc.) and three kinds of throat-neoplasms, is
appropriate. Internally alkalies may be adminis-
tered in auto-intoxication, adenitis, tympanites,
indigestion, dyspepsia, anorexia, constipation,
gravel, calculus, abdominal tumors, intestinal
worms, poisoning and gummata. However its
(internal) use is counter-indicated in persons
who have a tendency to hemorrhage, biliousness,
in children, the aged or weak persons, or those
who are suffering from giddiness, delirium, epi-
lepsy and amaurosis." Susruta I. 11. 2-5^^^*.
198 (a). ^r^Tgw «f: '^r: wT^Tcw^^-^-%^-^nMfT m-
^jftr^^m,^^^^^^: ^v^ \^^^^\ im^ ^^w. ^w^\ w^
5 rS " ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Cautery : "Cautery is more potent in its action
than caustics. For once cauterized, lesions lose
their sepsis, and even those which defy the medi-
cinal, operative and caustic treatments, become
hereby amenable." Susruta I. 12. 2^^^
Leeches : "By leeches ( Hirudo ), bleeding (or
removal of cong-estion ) can be accomplished in
the easiest way of kings, wealthy personages,
women, children, the as-ed, timid, weak or deli-
cately constitutioned individuals.** Susruta
I. 13. 2. = "\
Enema : "As enema ( vasti ) serves multifari-
ous purposes, according to the medical experts,
SURGERY 519
it is the best of all analeptic ( sneha ) remedies.
If it be properly applied, it makes the weak
strong ( Stimulating enema ), the lean stout
(enema nutriens), the stout lean (enema purgans),
strengthens eye- sight ( by removing the decom-
posing materials from the intestine, the toxic
products of which are absorbed in the system,
and provoke reflexably various maladies ) and
prolongs youthf ulness. It promotes the general
health of the body, adds to its vigor, brightens
complexion, is a restorative of health and con-
duces to the logevity of life ; and its use in fever
(enema purgans), diarrhoea ( enema adstringens ),
amaurosis, catarrh, cephalalgia, ophthalmia,
hemiprosoplegia, mimic convulsion, apoplexy,
general paresis, tympanites, hemiplegia, flatu-
lence, gravel, hyperalgia, oschitis, syphilis,
constipation, strangury, bubo, hemorrhage,
hydrothionuria, fecal impaction, aspermia, meno-
stasia, galactozemia, cardipalmus, lockjaw, torti-
collis, piles, calculus and abortion, is appro-
priate.
Fountain-syringe : Eor a boy one year old
the tube ( netra ) shall be six fingers' breadth
long, having the dimension of the little finger,
and . at the extremity of which, the nozzle
(Jcarnika) should be fixed, one and a half fingers*
520 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
breadth long ; the orifice at the mouth of the
tube should be like that of a heron's feather, and
at the end, like Pliaseolus mungo. For a boy of
eight years of age, the tube shall be eight fingers
breadth long having the dimension of the ring-
finger, and at the extremity of it, the nozzle
should be fixed two fingers' breadth long ; the
orifice at the mouth of the tube shall be like the
feather of the vulture, and at the end like
Phaseolus radiatum. And for a person, sixteen
years old, the tube shall be ten fingers' breadth
long, liaving the dimension of the middle finger,
and at the extremity of it, the nozzle should
be three and a half fingers' breadth long ; the
orifice at the mouth of the tube shall be like
the peacock's feather, and at the end like that
of a pea. The reservoir {asthapana) for the enema,
for persons, one, eight or sixtean years of age
shall be the size of their two handfuls, four
handfuls, and eight handfuls of their individual
hands respectively ( the modern fountain-syringe
is an apparatus, consisting of a rubber reservoir
for holding fluid for the enema, to the bottom
of which is attached a rubber tube, provided
with a suitable nozzle usuallv made of
vulcanized rubber ; and it is used for rectal or
vaginal injections, irrigating wounds, etc., the
SURGERY 52T
force of the flow being regulated by the height
of the reservoir above the point of discharge ).
The size of the tiabe and the reservoir is not
only to be graduated according to the age ( of
the patient ), but also in addition to it, his
physical condition and vigor.
For a person, above twenty five years of age,
the tube shall be twelve fingers' breadth long,
having the dimension at the mouth like the
thumb, and at the end like the little finger, and
the nozzle shall be three fingers' breadth long ;
the orifice of the tube at the mouth should be
like the feather of a female vulture, and at the
end like the stone of plum. The tube should be
firmly fixed with the reservoir. And the reservoir
should be capable of holding twelve handfuls of
enema. After seventy, the tube shall remain just
the same, but the quantity of the enema should
be reduced to that of a person of sixteen years
of age.
The tube should be made of gold, silver^
copper, bronze, ivory, horn, glass or wood,,
polished, strong, shaped like the bovine tail with
gradually reducing dimension, straight and with
globular orifice. And the reservoir is made out
of the bladder of the matured cow, bufPalo, boar,
goat or sheep, and it should be flexible, even.
522 ANCIENT HINDXJ MEDICINE
strong aud of the required size.*' Susruta
IV. 35. 2'7'^\
?sT^rniii?3«iiifjp!j?ngi:^ff^rf^^^ vm^^ 'ef'»j<ft u^ ^ '^c^^ts^'t
su;rgery/' 523v
Fractures : *'One suffering from fractures,
should avoid salt (sodium chloride), pungents,
alkalies, acids, sexual indulgence, exposure to
the sun, exercise and desiccant food. He should
take cooked fine rice, meat-broth, milk, milk-
fat, pea soup, and stimulative foods and drinks.
The bark of Glycyrrhiza glabra, Eicus
glomerata, Eicus religiosa, Butea frondosa,
Terminalea arjuna, Bambusae, Shorea robusta
and Eicus iiidica for splint {ktisa). Eor lini-
ment, Rubra manjista, Glycyrrhiza glabra,
Pterocarpum santalinum, and buttered rice-
paste which has been repeatedly washed in.
water (that is ftit lias been washed out from
the surface of the rice paste) should be used.
The wound should be bandaged every seventh
day in the wintry season, every fifth day in
the temperate season, every third day in the
hot weather, or according to the urgency of
the needs. But if the bandage (splint) is loose,
reparation of the joints does not take place,
and if too tight, it is apt to cause inflammation
of the tissues, pain and suppuration ; therefore
524 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
it should be properly bandaged (The reparation.'
of the bone in fractures depends on two factors :
(1) The fragments of the fractured bone are ta-
be placed in apposition to one another in the
normal position, and kept in that condition
from a week to eight weeks, according to the
needs of the case, so that the bone can be
repaired and consolidated. (2) The reparation
principally takes place in the soft tissues
surrounding the bone, and from the torn
periosteum granulation tissue is formed, which
when calcified forms callus and which by
ossification is converted into bony structure ;.
therefore if the splint has been put on before
the bones have been properly set, or if the
bandage is loose, or due to movement, the
fragments change their place, then of course
reparation can not take place, and after three
months time, they lose their recuperative
power ; if on the other hand, [the fragments of
the bones are very rigidly fixed, face to face,
without leaving any space between them, and
the bandage is very tight, there will be then
minimum of callus formation. Therefore for
successful reparation, both these extremes are
to be avoided, and this can be only faithfully
determined by X ray examination. In children
SUHGERY 525
aiormally, the reparation is rapid, especially
in cancellous tissues)." Susruta IV. 3. 2-8^^''.
Fractures of the Phalanges or dislocation of
the Metacarpo-Fhalatigeal joints : "Whether
the phalanges are fractured or the joints are
dislocated, they should be placed in the normal
apposition and bandaged (Wyeth's finger-
bandage or roller-bandage), and upon it (vul-
nerary) butter should be applied.
Metatarsal fractures : In the fractures of
202. W(^' ^Z^ '^\<*\*^' ^^^M{<\HM I
■J s3 >
^ra ^ ^m fi'JllI^^tq^^^T ^T 11 »a
526 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the metatarsus, (vulnerary) liniment should be
applied, then bandaged, and upon it splint
should be placed (to prevent motion and
displacement of the bones).
Fractures of fibula and femur : In fractures
of the fibula (tibia) and the femur, the parts
should be massaged with a liniment and the
fragmented bones brought to apposition ; then
after fixing a sphnt, they should be bandaged..
If the neck of the femur project, or the frag-
ments of the bone tear out through the flesh,
it should be given a circular bandage.
Fractures of the hipbone : In the fracture
of the OS innominatum (usually in the neck),
the raised part of the bone should be lowered,
and the depressed part raised, and thus it should
be bandaged. When the hip-joint has been
put in its normal place, it should be irrigated
(with a vulnerary or an antiseptic).
Fractures of the Ribs : If the ribs are
fractured, they are to be rubbed with a salve,,
and then after placing a pin (kavalika), the
ribs are to be fixed by Hwisted suture^
{nivandhanl)^ and then bandaged ; later the
patient is to be laid in an extension splint,
simple {droiit) or filled with (vulnerary) oil
(kataha).
SURGERY 527'
Dislocation of the scapulo-humeral joint : In
the dislocation of the scapulo-humeral joint, the
humerus is raised, by using a hammer at the
axilla, and when the hones are in their normal
apposition, affixed by the 'spica bandage for the
shoulder^ (svastika-vandhana).
Dislocation of the ^Ibow-joint : If the el-
bow joint is dislocated, it should be massaged,
and then put in the normal position through
extension and flexion movements ; when it is
done, it should be salved. The same treatment
is applicable in the dislocation of the knee-joint,
ankle-joint and radio-carpal joints (wrist-joint).
Fractui^es of the metacarpus : In the frac-
tures of the metacarpus after proper bandaging,
it should be moistened with a (vulnerary) oil ;
then to find out the strength of reparation, it
should be gradually tested by holding upon the
palm of the hand, a dried cow-dung ball (very
light), clay-ball, and at last a stone.
Dislocation of the acromio-clamcidar joint :
In the dislocation of the acromio-clavicular joint,
if the (outer end of the) clavicle be displaced
upwards, or downwards (from the acromion),
after fomentation, it should be raised in the
former case bv a hammer, and in the latter case,
depressed, and bandaged with a strong support
528 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
(Dessault's bandage : in obstinate cases, if the
displacement persist and cause discomfort, the
bones should be held together by wiring).
Fracture of the JELumerus : In the fracture
of the humerus, the treatment is similar to that
of the femnr.
Spj'aiii of the Cervical vertebral articulations :
If the neck is bent or depressed, it should be
brought to apposition by pressure upon the cer-
vical vertebrae and (with the traction- aid of)
maxillary bones ; it should then be bandaged,
after splint, and the patient laid to bed on his
back for a week.
Dislocation of the Temporo-Maxillary joint :
In the dislocation of temporo-maxillary or tem-
poro-mandibular joints, the bones should be put
in proper apposition and held together by five-
tailed {panchaiigi) bandage ( used as four-tailed
bandage now-a-days), and there should be nasal
injection of errhine, made of a sedative drug-
cooked in butter.
Pyorrhea alveolaris : If in young people, the
teeth become loose, associated with bleeding gum,
without any external injury, it should be treated
by antiseptic cold wash and injections ; and the
patient shall drink milk (during the treatment)
with the (tubular) stem of Nymphaea stellata.
SURGERY 529
In case of old men, the loose teotln sliould be ex-
tracted (by a forceps).
Injuries to the Nose : If tbo nasal bone
•caves ill or is bent (by traumatistn or syphilitic
lesion), then it should be raised and straightened
(by a speculum) and then for respiivition, in two
nasal cavities, two double-mouthed tubes should
l3e inserted. When it is done, it is to be ban-
daged, and the bandage to ))e kopt moistened by
a (vulnerMry) ointment.
Injuries to the Ear : If the (ossicles of the)
eai-s are broken, they should l)e put in their
opposition, then after an applic ition of a (vul-
nerarv) ointment, thev should be bandaged and
treated like ordinarv wounds.
Injuries to the Cranium : — -In the fracture of
the frontal bone, if the brain matter has not
vcome out (if the dura matter has not been pene-
trated or hurt), after liniment, the wound shall
be bandaged, and the patient shall take clarified
butter (?) for a week.
Inflammation : If due to an accidental fall
vor traumatism, any part ol' tlie body becomes
inflamed without any (apparent) injury, it shall
be treated by cold application and fomentation
(alternatively).
Iractures of the Femur and the leg hones :
34*
530 ANCIENT HINDr MEDICINE
In the fractures of the leg-bones (tibia and
patella) or of the thigh ( femur ), the patient
has to be lain in wooden extension bed, and
for the maintenance of the steady traction
( until the consolidation of the bone has
taken place, and to prevent the tension of the
muscles which prevents the reparation of the
fracture), the leg or the thigh has to be fixed
with five nails ; thus in the fracture of the leg
bones, there should be two nails on each side of
the leg, and against the sole, upon the wooden
frame (to prevent movement, which interferes
with consolidation of the fractured bones) ; in
case of the fracture of the femur, two nails on
each side of the thigh, and at the hip joint
should be fixed. (This treatment in the fractures
of the femur or the leg bones, is very similar to
the modern practice by Hod gen's nail extension
splint). This is also applicable in the fractures or
dislocations of the pelvis, vertebrae and the clavicle.
If the dislocation is old, this treatment is to be
preceded by embrocation to soften the ligaments.
Fractures of Patella : If the fractured pa-
tella {kanda) has consolidated in wrong apposi-
tion, it has to be broken up (artificially) and then
to begin treatment, after putting it in the normal
apposition.
SURGERY 531
Amputation of a dried bone : If the flesh
has retracted from a protruded bone, leaving it
dry, then the hone lias to be amputated (by saw)
carefully up to the fleshy part, and then it has
to be treated like a fresh wound ( by a recurrent
bandage)." Susruta IV. 3. 23-42 ";«\
203. *rJit WT ^r^f^iir ^i ^i^mra^i^;,^ ^wr i
^pq^raw^wf 11^^ ^?tt%t: I
^rofe^f fqf^cT^Tfq ^■^\mr\ ij^^q^ ii \^
^sn^^'^ ^fq w€l*rqig ^\^^^ i
cm: ^pfi%^ ^5^ ^f%f*r: '^gqrw ii 'lyi
^ijt^^ ^T ^+<i4$i«j*i^ f*i^»?^: II
^^i^ ^3rt ^T t\m\ m 5irat*^WT II 5^^
^'^^ cTWI ^iq»TF;^«'1l^*1T^'^H\
^gf^ m: ^f«? q^«T fq tt^ici?^ i
n^F^rif^^tsf t^t^T^ ^rqtfi II ^^
532 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
lUiinoplasty : The portion of the nose to be
covered over, is to be measured (exactly) with a
^ ci^ ^^ fjMT c[^vf»T^ t^sr; 1
«Rt*^f! q^f^ Wl^fT?T^ ^ 11 ^l
^^r^ sn^^^^i ^HTrg^mt^eT: ii ^^
l^f^Ht gfiTsfi^ l^^^l f^^ 1^ I
^TcT¥*T^f : ^f^\ f%f* ^ ^ ^T^(cm^ ii ^a
cre^^ *T^^?^ ^^MI%q^%; II
^rm €*it ftrtit ^i ^^It ii^r sMi^m i
<ifi: itif 5f 13't^ '?ji%^ R^Tq^n It ^^
SURGE KY 533
leaf ; and a flap of the required size is to be
taken from the Uganda* (goitre or the cheek), to be
ijrafted there, and to support it a metallic
frame is to he inserted \^it}l two tubes in the
nostrils to hoUl it in position, and then scraping
the border (to which the grafting is to be joined).
^T^ iT^r^T %^m fww tT^ra=^[^<T II ^e
^W 51f^'5*r^r«Tt Wqr3Jr«i5T f%cT^^ I
^jQ^W?!^ fl ^ cl% 4-3!(Y^ T\m<^\ II
'^fil^^if^giir^ fw^\\ %-'^3! s?^§kTF[ I
534 ANCIENT HINDU MEBICINE
and making the surface fresh (to make the graft-
ing successful), the flap is to be carefully sutur-
ed. When the grafting has heen properly made,
a powder made out of Ptercarpus santalinus,
Glycyrrhiza glabra and sulphate of antimony
should be sprinkled over the part, and then it
should be covered with a lint, which is to be kept
moistened with oleum Sesamura (until the com-
plete grafting has taken place. The modern
method of rhinoplasty is almost the same, except
the two tubes inserted in the nostrils ; to hold the
metallic frame in position, the metallic frame is
made to fit tight the scraped pocket in the nasal
bone, and it is provided with a few nodules
which are inserted into the nasal bony frame.
As to the grafting, the English method consists in
taking a flap from the cheek, as devised by Syme,
who borrowed it from India ; the Italian and
the German methods consist of taking the flap
from the arm ; in osteoplastic rhinoplasty, there
is a transplantation of a cartilaginous flap to
replace the septum nasi. The very recent me-
thod in nasal prosthesis consists of subcutaneous
injection of a mixture of solid and liquid para-
ffin, as introduced by Gersuny in 1910. But as
it might partially melt in the body temperature,
and thus emigrate and provoke embolism, it has
SURGEUY 535
l3een improved upon by Eckstein who uses pure
paraffin, which melts only at 60 degree centigrade
and solidifies after injection, which can be
easily performed by Brockaert or Lermoyer*s
syringe. This has given very satisfactory results).
Susrutal^ 16. 23= "\
204. siWnmF!!' ?f5?^¥TW qci wl^T ^^^i^fM II
YUI- DIETETICS.
"It is apparent that food and drink act as
fuel, in tlie p?'oce!>s of metabolism. Vital process
is sustained wiieu metabolism is fed by this
fuel. Proper dietary uoiuisbes all the bodily
element!?, improves complexion and enlivens the
senses. On the other hand improper dietary
provokes disease." Charaka I. 27. 2"-"*.
"Vigor, health, longevity and life itself is
based on oxidation, Food and drink increase and
balance the oxidizing process." Charaka I. 27.
165 =°%
"The physician that does not know the prin-
ciples of ^Liefefics\ can not cure diseases."
Susputa I. 4.6. 3 -''*.
205. ^(^i^^qT^^^jfio^efi^^iTm.^^^: f^rf^r; I m ^r{^^^'^,
206. ^^*IRi^?{l§5f^ HI'^ya.^^T^T lTft?fl5cIT: i
207, sj^iiag^igwT^iT fivrn: ^w^^'^H fr>if^^<5jg aF'w ^m^\ \\\
DIETETICS 4!c
^>7
"Evei'V Offifauic bodv contains live substaiicea
as (1) Minerals and Nitrogenons compounds
{prfMv'l), (2) ¥7ater (r/p), (3) Hydro-carbons
{tejas), (i) Carl)o-]iydrates (?w/?i) and (5) Ethet-s.
{akasa) ; but ifc may be called 'pa'Pthica, iqrf/a,
ioijasa, vayavya or dhMiya according to the
predominance of the substance contain(^.d in it.
Minerals and Nitrofienous Compoimds {pro-
fein) : The substance tliat is gross {st/mla), dense
(mra), has a high specific t,n-avitY {sctndra), non-
pungent {manda), inert {sthira), rough {khara =
sharp-edged crysials by the different inclination
of tlieir axes), heavy if/nru), hard {kafhma\ odori-
ferous {g an dhavo hula = extmctiYe substances of
tiie meat-protein), slightly astringent i;ls'.d kasaya)
and sweetish {madJmra), is 'pdrthwa' (organic
mineral bodies, and protein which contains about
10 p. c. of nitrogen). This produces firmness (of
the bony structure by the minerals), physical
vigor (by protein), hardness (of the bony structure
by the minerals) muscular tissue-growth (by pro-
tein), and particularly it has a high specific
gravity.
Aquatic substance : The substance that is
cool {&ita)y moistening {stimlta)^ soft isnigdha)^.
liquid {ma7ida\ heavy {gurv), fluid i c (so-ra), dense-
{sdndra), smooth (wrf/-?/), viscous ipichchhila), savo-
^38 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
ry ( ram-vahula ), slightly astringent, acid or
saline {kasaya-amlalavana) and sweetish (madhu-
ra)^ is apya' (juice of vegetable or meat). It is
fattening, refreshing, moistening, adhesive (by
nature), and excretory (diuretic or sudorific in
action).
Hydrocarbons : The substance that is calo-
rific {iisnaY penetrative iUksna), fine-textured
(sUksma), desiccant (ruksa), escharotic {khara)^
light [laffhu, in mole6ular weight), transparent
{visada, particularly liquid oil, having forms and
containing active principles (rupagtmcwahula),
slightly acid and saline ( isad amla lavana ) and
pungent (katu-rasa), is 'tejasa^ (hydrocarbon, that
is fatty bodies which generate heat. It is very
likely that the pungent spices were also regarded
calorific, as the congestive phenomenon with its
concomittant redness, heat and the hurning sen-
sation, provoked by its excessive uses, was mis-
taken for calorific energy). It causes combustion
(oxidation), digestion, cleavage (of the food par-
ticles in the alimentary tube), heat, radiation (of
heat), round face (corpulency) and bright com-
plexion.
Carhohydrates : The substance that is fine,
desiccant, rough (in tactile sensation, by different
inclinations of the axes as in sugar crystals),
DIETETICS 539
crystalline, tactile, slightly bitter (?), and astrin-
gent, is ^vayavya' ( energy-producers, that is
carbohydrates). It causes corpulence, agility
(muscular energy), relaxation, desiccation (by
external application), and motion (as manifesta-
tion of muscular energy).
Ethers : The substance that is tenuous,
rarefied, non-resistant { when a body passes
through it), diffusive (a solid body has both size
and shape ; a liquid body takes the shape of the
vessel in which it is kept : therefore it lacks
shape, but quantitatively it does not lack size :
but a gaseous body has neither size nor shape, as
it diffuses itself in the surrounding atmosphere,
if it be not confined in a closed container), trans-
parent, made of diffused particles, tasteless,
and soniferous, is 'akasiya' ( ethers, volatile oils
and gas ). It causes pliancy, distension and light-
ness." Susrutal.4^\.2-1"''\
51-0 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
J. — Carhohy Urates.
Rice : "Tlie autumrial rice (Oryza sjitiva) is-
sweetisl), produces energy witbout (mucli) heat
(a gram of carbohydrate or protein produces 4. I
Calories, ^vliih^ a gram of fat liberates 9. 3
Calories ), easily digestible, strengthening (dyna-
mogenesis is due to glYCoq:en, T\'iiicli can be
raost economic;illy produced in tl»e liumau
system by the carbohydrate portion of the diet,
and for glvcogenesis, carbobvdratc in one form
or another is the staple indispensa1}le faod of
almost all the human beings, except a fe^^
Eskimoes who mostly live on seal-meat and fat,
and the primitive Indians of Tierra del Faego
^'ho mainly subsist on shell fish and hunting),
sedative, causes slight flatulence (in case of
fermentation), fattening (excess of glycogen,
produced by the habitual consumption of
f^ II X
DIETETICS 511
-tiavljoliydrate more tiian the hodilj^ requirement,
is at lir«t deposited in the ]»epatic and (lie
muscle cells; hut if it he not used, it is con-
verted into adipose tissvies. a.s a stored eiierf>:y
in case oi future needs), is coustipative, and
leaves very little lesidue (rice is poor in
"CsUnlose ; husked rice contains ahout 12. 0
water, 7. 12 protein, 1. 0 fat, 76. 8 carholiydrates,
1. 0 cellulose and 1. 0 p. c. minerals)." Smruta
I. 46. r> ^«^
"■Barley : Barley (Hordeum distichon) is
astring^-nt sweetish, produces energy without
much heat generation, acidifyiuii^ (by fermen-
tation), removes 'kaylia and pUta\ acts as
vulnerary like the sesame (oil) and in abscesses
{by external application), a daily food, dimi-
nishes urinary secretion (oliguria), produces
flatulence (iu fermentation), hixative iiaving a
large residue (3. 8 cellulose), promotes longe-
vity, enhances metabolism, improves memory,
voice and complexion, viscous (when barley
powder is dissolved or cooked in water), reduces
corpulency, adiposis (by iuci'eased metabolism).
209. fi^^i ^i^<i: ^m ^i^i^r ^T'^i: i
542 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
refrigerent (when drunk internally as a decoc-
tion), desiccant (by external application) and
is a purifier of blood and of bilious secretion
(barley contains about 12. 3 p. c. water, 10. 1
protein, 1. 9 fat, 3. 8 cellulose, 2. 4 mineral
matter).'" Svsrutal. 46. 40"^^".
TFheat : Wheat (Triticum sativum) is
sweetish, heavy to digest (when not properly
cooked ), energizing, promotes vigor, aphrodisiac,
appetizing, fattening, produces energy without
much heat generation, sedative, vulnerary in
fractures, diuretic and laxative (wheat contains
about 12. 0 p. c. water, 11. 0 protein, 1. 7 fat,
71. 2 carbohydrates, 2. 2 cellulose and I. 9
mineral matter.)'* Siisrutal. 46. 42^ ^^
210. 5fi: ^^i^ '1^^ r^rg
imK«i'. sltf^imfqrfr^^ ii «o
^^-^ f%crT, ij^^pw , »^ I
211. 3fra?T 'gwt *rgtt ^I^^
DIETETICS 543
II. — Legumes.
Legumes : , "Phaseolus mungo (mudga),
Pbaseolus lobatus {vaua-mudga), Pisum sativum
{kalaya)^ Phaseolus aconotifolius (mahfsta),
Ervum lens ( masTa^a), Cicer lens {mangalya ),
Cicer arietinum {chanaka), Pisum arvense
{satma), Convolvolus turpethum album {Mputa),
Lathyrus sylvestris (Jiaremi), Cajan cajan
{udak'i), etc. are the legumes. They are
astringent- sweetish, energizing without produc-
tion of heat, acidifying (in fermentation),
productive of flatulence, constipation and
oliguria (Legumes hold an intermediate place
between carbohydrates and proteids, having
nearly 18 to 25 p. c. of vegetable protein-
legumin, (soy bean of Sola soja has about 32. 9
p. c. of protein, 18. 1 of fat, 28. 7 of carbohy-
drates, 4. 9 of minerals), half to one and half
per cent of fat, 50 to 60 p. c. of carbohydrates.
But unfortunately much of this rich food
contents can not be absorbed, as they are
confined in the cellulose, and the human
stomach lacks sufficient enzymic potency to
vj 44 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
burst open the cellulose shell. However, if it
be taken in the pure form, enough of it can
be assimilr>ted to make it a valuable addition
to the dietary)/' Smmta I. 46. 25-26'^^ = .
III. — Proteids,
Meat : j\[eat can be had from 8ix classes
of animals — (I) Aquatic (jalesat/a), (2) Marshy
{cinupa)^ (o) Domesticated igmmya), (4) Carni-
vorous {hravyadd), (5) Perissodactyla {eka-
kipha, distinguished from arisodactyla), and
(6) "Wild {jahgala ). (Meat supplies the protein
needs of tlie oriranism which is about from
lialf to one gram for each kilo body weight per
diem, in the most assimi]able,tonic and appetizing
manner)," Susntta I. 46. 53"-^^.
Domesticated Animcds : *'The meat of doraes-
tic^ited animals, relieve flatulence, is nourish-
ing, produces 'kapha and pitta', is sweetisli
in taste, non acidifying in reaction, enhances
metabolism and is stimulating.
212. ♦jJi^^gS ^^^'^li^ - ?l^?:?^F^^1I^T^€lsTre}J^K^rS^(WcT5t
213. %%wi\ ^i^qr iii'Rif; jr^jrj^i ^:^■VM wj-^^'^f^ ^pi^r^^Jif: i
©lETETICS
Goat : Goat-meat is oxidized wit
generation of excessive heat, is lieav
tougli or fatty), fattening, moderates '
hapha*^ cures constipation and catar
meat is not liked by some for its per
due to 'hircme\ otherwise if the anim?
and the meat is not fatty, it is easily di^.^. .,^,.
liutton : Mutton is nourishing, produces
'pitta and slesma\ is hard to digest (especially if
it be of tough fiber or fatty, as the mutton fat
has a very high melting point).
Mutton : The mutton of the broad-tailed
sheep (medajypuchcliha) is a muscle-builder, and
in other characteristics, it resembles the (ordinary)
mutton.
Beef: The beef cures tuberculosis, respira-
tory diseases, catarrh, and typhoid ; it is very
beneficial to the hard-workers and for those who
have good digestion ; it is purifying and relieves
flatulence." Susruta I. 46. 45-89 ^^\
214. [m-m ^ci'fTT: ^^^ ^'f^i: ^risf^Ti^T: i
^n^^siftf^i^ %qt q^'w^isisT: II c^
fill" m^l^ ftraf'?!!^" ^ II c-Q
35
OU.U.\^j
ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
isou : The venison is astringent-sweetish^
■gestible, relieves flatulence and bilious-
idizes Avith rapid lieat production, is a
imulant, and relieves vesical troubles."
t. 46. 5^"-'\
} meat : "Boar's (Sus scrofa) meat is
..iiic, nourishing, muscle-builder, refrigerant
(reflex reaction of perspiration ), appetizing^
hard to digest (especially fatty and coarse meat)
fattening, relieves fatigue, flatulence, and is
strength enini:?." Susruta I. 46. 102- ^^
"The meat of boar and pig is fattening, sti-
mulating, tissue-builder, tonic (removes lassitude),
carminative, strengthening, appetizing, sudorific
and heavy." 2. 27. 32 -^'\
Folds : "Partridge (perdix chinensis) is
215. ^ttt: -^^m■\ ^^■^\ ^i^iT ^Tcfftrii^n^^T 's?jt ^%-
216. ^e*r ^^1!* ?izi" sftci^ c.q'^' 5^ 1
2l6.(a) i^ t'^^' W =g?ra5Tr5i^Tq'?iT^ I
^TiTTqfai'", ^^' ti^5f ^^ ^ II
DIETETICS 547
restorative, enhances metabolism, astringent-
sweetish, is oxidized with pungency, and is a
good diet (during convalescence) in acute compli-
cated cases. '^ Susruta I, 46-59"^'.
"Snow-partridge (Tetraogallus himalayaensis)
is slightly heavy, is oxidized with excessive
heat production, sweetish, is a muscle-builder,
improves memory (by accelerated circulation}
and enhances metabolism, tonicises the entire
system, is laxative and improves the complexion.
Particularly its white variety cures hiccup,,
respiratory lesion and flatulence." Susruta I. 46.
''Chicken is fattening, is oxidized with exces-
sive production of heat, relieves flatulence,
builds muscles, improves voice, is strengthening
and stimulating ; the domesticated chicken is-
heavier than its wild variety, and is beneficial
in (fermentative) flatulence, consumption, (acid)
2! 7. \,n\% ^v;^■^^ ^^^\^^^^ ^i: i
218. t^5^'^Tigrt 1^1 ^^fti^: I
548 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
vomitings, and (chronic malarial) intermittent
fever." Sasruta I. 46.63"- ^^
**Pigeons etc. are astringent-sweetish, desic-
cant, frugivorous, provoke flatulenee, pitta and
Mesma, are oxidized without much heat, produce
oliguria and leave a very scanty residue. Of
them, hheda§i causes all kinds of disturbances
and intestinal decomposition. The wild pigeon
is astringent sweetish-saline (in taste) and is
heavy. The domesticated pigeon is beneficial
in gastrorrhagia, is astringent, stimulating, non-
acidifying in reaction, and is heavy. The wild
sparrow is sweetish, fattening, increases 'kapha^
and is aphrodisiac. The garden sparrow is
beneficial in gastrorrhagia, and is a strong aphro-
disiac.'' Susruta I. 46. 65-69"-^
219. %i>rr'€tsrT^r?T ?^; ^^^r^^n^: I
220. =htiiy*j^r ^^: i^rfi^r 't^^w: I
*MWMl'i'!f«<*»it ^: ch|<ll«hMtd=h: II ^^
DIETETICS 54-9^
"Goose, crane, heron, ruddy goose, osprey,
teal, duck, pheasant, a variety of crane (Ardea
nivea), small crane, duck (Pelicanus fusicallus),
heron, drake, bar-headed goose (Anser indicus),
Chinese goose (Cygnopsis cygnoides), Turdus
ginginianus, Corvus aquaticus, 4 members of
the xlntidse family, water cock, Cocculus melano-
leucus and the wild goose are called *plava*
(aquatic floating birds) and they are gregarious.
They are beneficial in gastrorrhagia, are oxidized
without the production af excessive heat, fatten-
ing, muscle-builder, relieve flatulence, laxative
and diuretic, sweetish, and non-acidifying in
reaction. But of them the goose is hard to
digest, is oxidised with the production of an
excessive heat, sweetish, fattening, improves voice
and complexion, strengthening, stimulating,
aphrodisiac and carminative." Susruta I, 46. 105-
107^'^
Mollusca : Conch (Strorabus gigas), mussel.
550 ANCIENT HINDU MET)ICINE
oyster, snail (Helix pomatia), and large-shelled
snail or cockle are called 'kosastha' (mollusca).
Amphibia : Turtle, crocodile, red crab (cancer
pagurus), shore crab (carcinus moenus), and
porpoise ( Delphinus gangeticum ) are called
*padt' (footed).
They are sweetish, non-acidifying in reaction,
carminative, are oxidized without the production
of much heat, fattening, sedative, laxative and
increases kapha:' Susruta I. 46.108-110^^-.
Fish : "Fishes are of two kinds— fresh-water
and marine. ^'Susruta 1. 46.112 2='^
'Tresh-water fishes are sweetish, heavy,
j^w. ^^m^^j i-€[ ^mfwT^ ii \ e'o
222, ajtaJt'l<slHjRtiai*^5Hi3f5(^cra: ^aj^: n \oz:
^ku: f^['>JT ffcn: fq^ ^im: %%^i^: \\ x\o
DIETETICS 551
carminative, hemorrhagic, are oxidized with
production of excessive heat, aphrodisiac, fatten-
in£f, and leave little residue. *'Susruta 1.46.
113'"S
''Sea-fishes are heavy, fattening, sweetisb, do
not increase 'pitta' excessively, are oxidized with
an excessive production of heat, carminative,
muscle-builder, and increase 'slepna'." Susruta
I. 46.120" "-^
Milk : "There are eight kinds of milk
(available for general uses, viz. : cow's milk,
goat's milk, camel's milk, sheep's milk, buffalo's
milk, mare's milk, woman's milk and elephant's
milk. As these animals eat various kinds of
food-stuffs, and their milk is the essence of the
product of their metabolism (during lactation),
therefore the milk is vitalizing, heavy (?), sweet,
viscid, refrigerant, fattening^ emollient, laxative
and demulcent ; so the milk is regarded as the
vital fluid (product) of the animal.
224, iTlfqi T^^l *Io5IT 5!I^€t ?n^cITxr?7: I
-25. ^ig?jr 31^: ^r^\ wiKi ^Tifcrrq^^r: i
552 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
As milk is beneficial to the (young) animal'
(for growth and development), so all kinds of
milk are good for the animal life. Only it is
counter-indicated in the derangements of 'vata^.
pitta, Mood and mind'. It is beneficial in
chronic fever, bronchitis, dyspnea, consumption,
tuberculosis, cancers, insanity, tymphanites,
epilepsy, vertigo, intoxication, hypersemia.
polydipsia^ cardiac troubles, vesical lesions,
anemia, chronic dysentery, piles, colic, ascites,
diarrhoea, leucorrhoea, diseases of the female
genital apparatus (gonorrhea), abortion, gastror-
rhagia, fatigue, and pleurisy. Milk is depurant,
strengthening, muscle-builder, oxidizer, fattening,
restorative, analeptic, delays senility, promotes
longevity, vitalizing, stimulating, emetic, laxa-
tive, and having the same quality of the bone-
marrow, it increases hematogenesis. It is a
good diet for the children, the aged, wounded,
emaciated, starved, or those exhausted by sexual
excess.
Cotv*s milk : Cow*s milk is non-salivant,
fattening, heavy (?), oxidizer, beneficial in
gastrorrhagia, refrigerant, sweetish, non-acidify-
ing in reaction (?), vitalizing and very hypoten-
sive.
Goafs milk : Goat's milk possesses the same-
DIETETICS 553-
properties as cow's milk ; but it is specially
beneficial in tuberculosis, is light, restorative
and cures dyspnea, bronchitis and gastrorrhagia ;
as the goats are of small size, feed upon pungent-
bitter substances, drink little water and take
constant exercise, their milk is good in all
diseases.
Gamers milk : Camel's milk is desiccant (?),
calorific, slightly saline, of pleasant taste, light,
and is beneficial in inflammation, cancers,
ascites, piles, intestinal wornis^ skin lesions and
poisonings.
Eice^s milk : Ewe*s milk is sweetish, fatten-
ing, heavy (fat : 6.18), and moderates ^'kapha
and pitta' ; it is a good diet in rheumatism and
hebetic cough.
Buffalo's milk : Buffalo's milk is salivant,
sweetish, lowers metabolism (?), somnifacient
and induces chills (as the buffalo abounds in
marshy places, where the malaria is rampant,
the symptoms-complex, especially the chills and
the metabolic derancjements of malaria have
been mistakenly attributed to the buffalo's milk);
the buffalo's milk contains more fat than the
cow's milk, and is heavier.
Mare^s milk : Mare's milk is strengthening,
beneficial in the rheumatism of the extremitieSv
551. ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
of acidulated sweetish saline taste, desiccant
and lififht.
IVoinait's milk : Woman's milk is sweetish,
astringent, refrigerant, can be used for irrigation
of the nose and the eye-lids, promotes health,
is light and oxidizing,
Elephanfs milk : Elephant's milk is sweetish,
astringent, muscle-builder^ heavy, fattening,
increases vigor, is beneficial to the eyes and is
strengthening.
The milk, milked in the morning, due to the
cooling influence of the night, and lack of
exercise of the animals, is heavy, constipative
and refrigerant ; the evening milk, on the other
Jiand, as the animals are warmed by the sun,
exercise and respiration, relieves rheumatism
and fatigue and is beneficial to the eyes.
Raw milk is salivant and heavy, but if it be
boiled, it becomes lighter ( milk if exposed,
especially in a tropical country, becomes soon
contaminated, and it is a good precaution to
boil it before using it ) ; but this does not apply
to woman's milk, where it is beneficial when it
is fresh. Milk becomes contaminated, if after
milking, it be exposed to cool itself ; but if it be
too much boiled, it becomes heavy, but retains
its tissue-building property.
DIETETICS 555
The milk that is foul-smelling, sourish, dis-
<;olored, or of perverted taste, or if it be mixed
with salt, or coagulated, should not be used,
Susruta I. 45. 44-57'" ^
226. JiswTaT' ^m =^?^lf^# *flf%q^ ?IfT I
^^ift^r' cm ^icT-fqTi?r* q^?T '^cm ii a^
^^^* ^w^' f%f%^^* ■^\^\^ ^-f I
5ltqi^€r^^wf¥* T%rFni«r^rtr?^^ II ac
556 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Sour-milk : "Sour milk of cow is fattening,
sweet in reaction (lactic acid in reaction) oxidi-
zer, carminative, depurant ( anti-putrefactive ),
and appetizing," Stisruta I. 45. 61-*'^.
sf^ia^cisRV: qi^zi" ^^^ ^ ^■^^\^ w sir
r
^fswT fejiT: ^i€ffn3T^^ f% cii%cT«^ II «i.yL
ctt^lfcT^Jcf ^e^" ^ 1['=?^5^^ II a.€
227. %»^' f^qili fl^ ?1q^ g^l^t^JT I
DIETETICS 557
Whey : "Whey is acidulated sweetish
astringent, is oxidized rapidly, light, pungent,
oxidizer, antitoxic, is beneficial in ( intestinal )
inflammation, diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, piles,
splenitis, tumors, intermittent fever, polydipsia,
vomiting, stomatitis, colic, adiposis, catarrh and
flatulence ; it is non-acidifying in reaction (?),
cardiac stimulant, beneficial in strangury,
adipositis, and is not a tissue builder. Susruta
I. 45. 77''^
III. — Fats.
Gutter : "Fresh-churned butter is energizing,
calorific ( d'ipana ) and cardiac stimulant, and is
benefical in chronic dysentery, piles, trismus
and anorexia." CharaJca 1, 27. 100'^'.
Oil ; Sesame oil is slightly astringent, of
pleasant taste, minute ( of minute fat globules ),
calorific, diffusive, increases ^pitta' ( pitta is
regarded as the humor and the seat of com-
228. -m ^'^w^' '^WiWMW^^'^ ^ ^^^f^r#pr* ^Rs^qncft-
229- ^Vi"f% ftxTFT f^* ?T^^* ^^?T, I
558 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
bustion energy and li eat -metabolism), is laxative
and diuretic. It does not increase plilegma,
but is tbe best carminative ; it is energizing,
beneficial to the skin, increases fat {inedas) and
beat ( agnivaoxldJma )/' ' Chciraka I. 27, 137 -^'^
IV. — Vegetahles.
Vegetables : ''The cucumber, ( Cucumis
sativus ), field cucumber ( Cucumis utilissimus ),
gourd (Benincasa cerifera), water-melon etc. are
indigestible, retards digestion ( of other foods ),
refrigerant, savorous, phlegmatic, laxative,
diuretic, contain potash and are sweetish./^
Susruta I. 46. 221 -''''.
"The lotus root, the lotus, esculent root of
the lotus, fibers of the stalk of the lotus, root
of Scripus kysoor, Trapa bisponosa and water
weeds are indiirestible, arrest dioestion and are
231. ^glr5^^-c}f^kw55li!V^iTO#rff 11 'iR^
DIETETICS 559
refriged-ant ; the stall:, flower and fruit of wbite
and blue water lilies ( Nymplu'ea esouienta and
Nymph sea stellata ) are savorous, astringent,
refrigerant, and provoke ^iMegma" and flatulence.
Oharaka I. 27. 54' 3^
Fruits : "Fomegranate is astringnt, non-
calorific, oxidizer, appetizing, refreshing and
constipative. bum^uta I. 46. 144"^".
''Frune provokes excessive flatulence, is
laxative and reduces 'kapha and yiltd !^ Susruia
I. 46. 169=^'*.
"Fiff retards digestion, is sweet, fattening,
refreshing and indigestible." Sus^'uta I. 46..
^'Cocoa-nut is indigestible, fattening, moderates
*pitta% sweetish, refrigerant, energizing, refresh-
232. or^sr^g^f<yi^-^^l<^»ioh^^w II
233. ^^^T^?:^* ^^j ^if^* ^ftftfi^w i
^^^^ ^f^< i?j ^iff^^i^fST?T II
234- '5is?lf ^Tctvi 'ifTf^ sn?^* ^qifqrlfsi^ II ^^e
560 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
ing, stimulatiDg and diuretic." Susrnta I. 46.
Grape is laxative, improves voice, sweet,
fattening, refrigerant, and relieves gastrorrhagia,
febricula, dyspnea, polydipsia, hyperemia and
emaciation." Stisruta I. 27. 146"^'^.
V. — Stimulants. '
Salt is appetizing, digestive, laxative and
carminative.'' Charaka I. 27. 146-^^.
Spices : "Eoeniculum Nigella indica, Ptycho-
tis ajowan, Cumminum cyminum, Coriandrum
sativum and the leaf of Piper longum are
digestive, oxidizing, carminative, antitoxic
( relieves 'kapha* ) and is deodorant." Charaka
I. 27. 148^39^
236. ^]K%^' ^"^ fw^' ftxi^* ^^ S^lcf^W.. !
'•.TtiN-n^Kji.^l^-iVJlKl^T^liliij^l 11 ^cc
^^d-y r^cil, ♦ic)^M*1^, 8^ 1
238
^^< 'j\di<\i ^o=i mfch <^ ^^r-itjim^+i ji
239.
^K^: iii^^i^i3{) ^w T^Wfj<^<% 1
<t=^«i ^^'\ «<m*qi^1jW'iiaj»i*iji
^^5*1-^ r^dT, ''^^i^HfTv, R^o 1
I>IETETICS 561
Liquors : "All acidulated wines cause bili-
ousness, increase digestive power, are appetizing^
emetic, desiccant, carminative, cardiac stimulant^
vesical disinfectant ( ? ), easily oxidized, irritant,
are oxidized with liberation of excessive heat^
pungent, excitant of the senses, exhilarant,.
laxative and diuretic." Susriita I. 45. 155 ''*".
"Neto Wine is salivant, heavy, provokes
flatulence, has disagreeable flavor, non-savorous,,
non-refreshing and irritant.
Old Wine has fine aroma, stimulates digestion ^
is refreshing, ai^petizing, antlielmintic ( or
bactericidal ), depurant ( ? ), quickly oxidized,,
desiccant and carminative." Susnita I. 45.
179-180'^*'.
240. ^^' fqTl^^ ?T?jW ^tq*lT:t=g*1T, I
21-1. i4 ^R^^Trn'i^ir^ 1^ ^TcTff^'-i.tq'i^, I
36
562 ANCIENT HINDD MEDICINE
"The wine that is opaque, irritant, malodor-
ous, insijjid, with yeast fermentation, heavy, non-
enlivening, new, sharp ( with a high percentage
of alcohol), oxidized with a great amount of heat,
which has been kept in a foul vessel, which has
been made with insufficient materials, which has
been kept exposed in an open bowl over night,
colorless, should not be taken, as well as the
wine left over from another person." Susruta
I. 45. 185-^^\
"Wine is prescribed in emaciation, strangury,
chronic dysentery, or for the person who has
lost blood ; it is a carminative and a galactago-
gue. It is beneficial in hiccup, dyspnea, catarrh,
bronchitis, constipation, anorexia, vomiting,
tympanites, fecal impaction, and flatulence.
''Susruta I. 27. 93" *^
242. ^T^* f^^rff ^^ f^^* %f«^' ^I^ I
24-3. iiaiFrr ^rm^^T'nt ^^f^sjwff^ft'JiT'T, i
DIETETICS 563
VL- Water.
"The water falling from the clouds is tasteless
( without any distinct taste ), vitalizing ( acts as
an ambrosia ), beneficial to life, refreshing, sus-
taining, circulatory ( entering into every tissue
metabolism ), and removes lassitude, fatigue,
thirst, intoxication, vertigo, somnolence, sleep
and hyperemia.
The water-vapor of the sky falling upon the
earth takes the taste of the place where it falls,
and the water of the river, rivulet, lake, pond,
dam, well, pool, fountain, vegetable sap, sub-
terranean stream, field inundation, and pond in a
swampy region covered with algae and filled
with water-weeds, is swee^iish." Susruta I. 45.
**The water vapor of the sky falls upon the
earth in different ways, viz. : as ( 1 ) rain ; { 2 )
hail ; ( 3 ) dew ; and (4) snow. Of them, the
rain-water is the best for its lightness. The rain
564 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
also comes from ( the vapor of ) two sources —
Gangetic ( sweet ) diid oceanic (saline)." Siisrttfa
1. 45. 5'^^
"Of them, rain from the Gangetic ( vapor )
is the best." Susriita I. 45. 5**^
JPolluted Walter : "The water swarming with
bacteria, polluted by their toxins, or by (human )>
excreta, decomposed egg or dead body, covered
with grasses and ( fallen ) leaves, contaminated
or poisoned, or the inundation water of the first
rainy season, if bathed in, or drunk by a person,
makes him suffer soon from external lesioHj.
( skin-diseases for bathing ) and internal troubles
( intestinal disorders for drinking ).
The water that contains slime, mud, oris
covered with algae, water- weeds and lotus-leaves
etc. and in »vhich (the rays of) the sun, (the beams
of ) the moon, and air ( aeration can not take
place ) can not penetrate, and which is distin-
guished by any smell, color or taste, that water
is to be regarded as contaminated.
The contaiTiinated water is marked by six
24 G. ^]w g'l; v<^\^^\
DIETETICS 565
faults — in ^oucli, appearance, taste, smell, action
and reaction Roaghness ( due to the presence of
sand or grit ) viscosity ( bacterial decomposition
especially of the vegetable matter ), warmth
( due to carbonic acid gas ), tooth-sensibility
{ due to hstringency or any other chemical agent
or bacterial product ) are the touch-faults of con-
taminated water. Mud, sand, slime and colorings
( chloropLyl ) are the appearance faults. Any
pronounced taste is the taste-fault. Poul-smelling
is the smell-fault. If, when drunk, the water
causes thirst, heaviness ( in the stomach ), colic,
and expectoration, it is due to its action-fault.
If when drunk, the water takes a long time for
its digestion ( passage, absorption and excretion )
and is retained in the alimentary canal, it is the
reaction fault. These faults are not found in the
water ( that falls upon the earth from conden-
sation of the water- vapors ) of the sky.
SterilizatioH of Water : Water should be
sterilized, if of contaminated source, by boiling,
warming in the sun, or by throwing into it,
red-hot iron-balls, sand and stones, For its
deodoi-ization, flowers of Rotleria tinctoria,
Michelia champaca, Nymph sea cerula, and
Bignonia suaveolens should be kept in water
over-night.
566 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Tue water saturated with tlie fragrance of
the flower, should be drunk in a gold, silver,
copper, bronze, crystal or earthen bowl. Pollut-
ed water, or untimely rain water should be
always avoided. He who drinks water not
sterilized by boiling etc. , is apt to suffer from
inflammation, anemia, diseases, indigestion,
bronchitis, dyspnea, catarrh, colic, tumor,
ascites and other malignant diseases." Susriita
1, 45. 6-lP*^
247. ^s^gfl^T^-ai^HfTf^fqcm. I
^T ^ f^TT^^q ffcr I cT q% ^^ft% 1 ^f^ II <£
mm T.m^ cTW ^m irf'irfrasfq ^ i
H^T^?f'^' -fl^t ^T ^f«? ^f%^ fqtfT II
DIETETICS 567
Fure water : "The water that is without
smell, distinct taste, that 'juenches thirst,
that is pure, cool, transparent, h'ght and
refreshing-, is to be regarded as 'pure loater'."^
Susrutal, 45. 13'* \
^^■\\ IT f^WR^ ^^ii'T ^\7^ji\7[ T^^^^ ^\\\\
IX HYGIENE.
Hospital : "By an expert architect, a large
5iouse should be built ; it should be strong,
but not drafty, except the current of air shall
pass in one direction ; it should be so built
that one can easily move about within it ; it
should be built on an elevated place (having
nothing higher than it in the locality), and
within, it should be free from smoke, sun
(exposure to the sun was regarded injurious ;
its disinfectant and sterilizing property was not
understood), dust, noise, (sensual) touch, (excit-
ing) ocular impressions, (spicy) taste, and
(penetrating) smell (that is, whatever excites
the nerves and disturbs the nervous quietude) ;
and it should be provided with stair-
case, mortar, pestle, toilet, bath-room and
kitchen.
There attendants (interns) for nursing the
sick, should be appointed, who are of good
character, are pure (free from any disease),
obedient, clever, kind-hearted, fit for any kind
'Of work (associated with nursing hospital
HYGIENE 569
duties), expert in cooking, in bath-attendance,
massage, capable of lifting and putting the
sick into bed, and who do not show unwilling-
ness for any kind of work. There experts
should be enErasred who are well-versed in
singing, music, (in recitation of) prayers, poems,
hymns, stories, history and contemporary
events [(for the distraction of the mind and
entertainment of the sick).
There should be also kept (in the enclosure)
Tetraoperdix himalayensis, Galloperdix spadi-
ceus, hare, stag (Cervus elaphus), black deer,
black-tailed deer (Cervus cashmirianus), Dama
platyceros, and sheep. As well as gentle,
milking cows with calved, free from diseases
should be kept, and for them feed, sleeping
places (stable) and drinking water should be
provided.
There should be also cistern, pail, tub,
cask, keg, pitcher, jar, ewer, platter, dipper,
cooking-pot, double-boiler, bandage, thread,
cotton, animal thread (horse-hair for sutu ration),
a comfortable bed with all accessories, jug,
spittoon, and all that are necessary for leaning
(easy chair), sitting, (for the application of)
ointment, sweating, massage, emplastrum,
fomentation, embrocation, emetics, sedatives.
670 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
vulnerary enemata, oily enemata, errliines,
urination and purgation/' Cliaraka I. 15, 5-9' *^
Qualifications of a Surgeon : "For the
practice of operative surgery, a physician has
to get the license from the king, and for this
h^ has to acquire a thorough knowledge of the
medical science and surgery, must have keen
observation and experience of operations (under
a licensed preceptor or in a hospital) ; and
before an operation, he has to pair his nails
(to prevent sepsis, and to carry pathogenic
HYGIENE 571
germs and spread infection from patient to
patient), to cut short Iiis hair (shaving for the
same purpose), become purified (free from any
disease, and disinfected) and shall put on
(washed, disinfected) white robeL, (and shall go
to the operation) with umbrella (on his head),,
stick in his hand, sandals (in his feet), robes
not highly raised (gracefully attired), having
pleasant speech, uprighteous conduct, friendly
to all living beings, and succor of the good.""
Susruta I. 10. 2- ^ .
I. — Dietetic JSygeine.
''Desiccated (for losing flavor and savor), or
decomposed meat (to prevent ptomaine poison-
ing), or meat from a deceased animal ^to pre-
vent the infection of the pathogenic germs of
the disease from which the animal has died),
or killed by poisoning, or by a venomous snake,
or by an instrument which has been covered
572 ANCIENT HINDIJ MEDICINE
i\atli poisons, too old (the meat of an old animal
is not only tough and unsavorous, but it also
contains an excessive amount of metabolic
wastes, due to the deficiency of glandular
secretions and incomplete oxidation), or too
young ( the meat of a young animal contains an
excessive amount of purine bodies, and extract-
ives are not yet formed, which exert a tonic
effect on the organism)/' Susruta I. 46. 129 "'^.
Evil Effects of Over-Nutrition : Any one
who with sedentary habits, indulges in fatty,
•sweet, heavy, viscid foods, new rice, new wine,
meat of animals of marshy region, or aquatic
creatures, milk, and milk-products, sugai-prepa-
rations, and cakes excessively, is subject to diathe-
sis of various lesions, and if he does not take
precautionary measures against them, he suffers
from diabetes, pruritus, eczema, impetigo, jaun-
dice, fever ; skin diseases,hyperacidity, stran-
gury, anorexia, somnolence, impotence, adiposis,
lassitude, foul-emanation from the body, encrust-
ing ( calcification ) of the vascular system,
251. ■g^snftf^^^qitrr^^f^^giisi^^i^iJTgi^Tr^rft'ut ^\m^-
HYGIENE 57S
intellectual fatigue, enervation, ascites and othep
diseases." Charakal. 23. 2 -■'".
"A stimulant taken in proper dose increases
the strength and weight of the body, but taken
excessively, it reduces the body-weight (by induc-
ing hyper-metabolism )." Chai^aka I. 22.
25 -'^.
Seasonal diefetic variations : "He who un-
derstands and follows the hygienic and dietetic
regulations for each season, by his seasonal vari-
252. ^Jfiq'tiffi g[: feiV ^^^Jr^fqf^'rr : I
l^ra'^'T^JI^''^ ?lt%^T5Tq^Tf<5f : II
253. q^* -g^g^^q^^^ ^T3?f ft^r??^^ ^*T J
B74 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
ation of diet improves his complexion and increas-
es his visror." CharaTca I 6. 2 ^^'a.
Seasonal variation of food is conducive to
health and vitality. In the summer one does not
need so much fat as in the winter, as the caloric
needs of the organism is much less, owing to the
less radiation of heat from the hody surface to
the surrounding atmosphere. And as the cold
air contains more oxygen, the increased oxygen-
intake naturally enhances metabolism, and there-
fore one has in the winter better appetite, and
can digest a large quantity of meat and other
nitrogenous food, which in the summer may
easily cause gastro-intestinal troubles. Carbo-
hydrate needs of the body are also increased, as to
keep the body warm, one is apt to move and to
take exercise, which naturally consumes more
glycogen than in the summer, and therefore an
increased intake of carbohydrates becomes neces-
sary. "Due to the contact of the cold air, digest-
ive fire is confined, and consequently its vitality
( metabolism ) is increased ; for this reason in
253. (a) cT^fajcTrar^T^Krf^* ^'^ ^t^ I
HYGIENE 615
winter, one can digest much more heavy stuffs
( than in the summer )." Charaka I. 6. 9 '^*.
Not to eat rapidly : Do not eat too rapidly.
For if eaten too rapidly, the ingesta does not give
adequate savor, nor is it properly fixed ( masti-
cated and saturated with salivary ferments), and
is abnormal in its course in the alimentary canal,
and its normal reactions are not perceived ; there-
fore one should not eat too rapidly.'' Charaka
III. 1. 19 ^^^
A lean person has more vitality than a fat
person : "To make a fat person lean, indigest-
ible food (which is insufficiently assimilated, but
only given to satiate hunger ) and fasting should
be prescribed. And to make a lean man fat,
easily digestible food to satiation should be given,"
Charaka I. 21. 16 ''^ "But though both lean-
ness and fatness have their inconvenience, be-
tween them, leanness is preferable, for in a
254. 3|,^ stlcTlfiT^Wf^^'^it ^f^Tt ^# I
255. ^Tf^tfcffi^sim I ^fe^^ f% ^wym m^^'{*^\^'^^^m^m\-
256. 5^ '^Tciq''!!^^* ^^rfft ^^^' flf^ I
576 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINl
disease, a fat individual suffers more ( accumu-
lation of fat in tlie body is due to fundamentals :
( 1 ) Eitlier excess of food is taken, especially
carbohydrates, beyond tlie bodily ):eeds, and with
good digestion, tlie surplus of converted glycogen
above the current expenditure is stored in the
body as fat ; to a moderate extent, this is very
becoming, as it beautifies the form of the body ;,
but in excess it is apt to interfere with the action
of the heart and other vital orsrans bv pressure
as well as fatty infiltration. However, the dys-
peptics do not get fat and remain lean with
excessiv^e amount of food, for the ingesta can be
only partly absorbed, due to deficiency, quanti-
tatively and qualitatively, of digestive enzymes^
( 2 ) Patty accumulation and degeneration takes
place in hypo-metabolism, due to glandular defici-
ency as in myxedema. On the other hand, hyper-
metabolism causes gradual emaciation. As vita-
litv is related with metabolism, so leanness not
associated with nutritional insufficiency or wast-
ing diseases, has more resisting power against
pathogenic micro-organisms )." Charaha I. 21.
Z56. (a) ^I^^TS^ -^i. s^^w €??ttT^i;^rT f% cH I
THEEAPEUTICS 577
Mental excitement interferes with Digestion :
**Worry, sorrow, fear, anger, sadness, perplexity
and vigilance ( sleeplessness ) interfere with
digestion, even if the food be good and taken in
right quantity ( mental excitement arrests the
digestive secretions, and by raising the blood
pressure by excessive secretion of adrenalin, the
sympathetic nervous system becomes irritated y
Charaka III. 2. 6-'^
Mouth Bygiene : "After eating, one should
repeatedly gargle, and wash out the mouth ( to
wash out the food particles tliat may be in the
buccal cavity, to prevent their harboringof micro-
organisms which cause decomposition and foul
odor of the mouth)." Susruta I. 46. 620^' \
"Food particles sticking in or within the (crevices
of) teeth, should be taken out slowly with tooth-
picks ; for otherwise they cause foulness of the
mouth ( The negligence of these two simple oral
hygienic rules, is spreading fast in India, as in
257. T[raa[Ttg«i^^cT w^' =^t^" ^ #^f?T i
258. iraratr^fp:!^* mT^^ W^T' »
37
578 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Europe, the Dental Caries )." Susruta I. 46„
Foods to he avoided : "The food that is dis-
colored, contaminated, left over ( from the plate
of some one else ), mixed with pebbles, grass or
similar substances, repulsive in appearance, kept
over night, insipid, or decomposed, should not be
taken ; nor the food that is cooked for a long
time ( vitamine is destroyed by over-cooking or
cooking at a high temperature ), is hardened
( digestive ferments can not penetrate through
hardened masses ), cold ( the injesta has to be
heated to the body temperature before the
digestive ferments can act energetically upon
them and they can be absorbed ), cooked again,
porridge having uneven cooked grains, and what
is cooked at a high temperature.'* Susruta I. 46.
518^^°.
II. — General Hygiene
Not to interfere with the natural call of
Nature : "An intelligent person should not
259. ^'ripri^iim^m' s^t^^^'^i^A; I
260- ^=^^* ^tif^'n' qT^I1!(?Wl?^^ I
THERAPEUTICS 57&
retain (interfere with the passage by the voluntary
contraction of the muscles) feces, urine, intestinal
gas, vomiting, sneezing, yawning, hunger, thirst,
tears, sleep or the fatigued breath ( carbon
dioxide)." CJiaraka 1. 7. 2''\
Periodic Cleaning of the System : *'Ia the
spring, in the rainy season, and the autumn, one
should cleanse his system. First he should use oint-
ment, then sweating, and after that emetics and
purgatives. Later enemata and errhines should be
given ( The periodic flushing of the intestines by
enemata or purgatives, is now recognized by all
as a good hygienic prophylaxis. In weakness
of the kidney, Turkish bath twice or thrice a year
is also very desirable, to throw out of the system
the accumulated toxins through the skin, which
the kidney has failed to eliminate or as a relief to
the over- worked kidneys )." Charaka I. 7. 35"^-.
26 1 . ^ %J[\^ ^TT^TIH STTrfrsT ^^H'^^ I I
262. ??m^Tra^ ?TTf% Tff^ TTwt h't: I
€=f^ ^^^^ "^A ^i^^^€^^»T II
580 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Physical Exercise % Exercise is the exerti
to invigorate and to increase the strength of the
body ; one should take physical exercise
measuredly. Eor it induces lightness, agility,
vigor, endurance,vemoves flatulence, and increases
metabolism. But if it be doo e in excess, it
brings about lassitude, fati?" spermatorrhea,
gastrorrhagia, dyspnea, b^ onchitis, fever and
vomiting". Charaka I. 7. 24-26''^
Excess to be avoided : "An intelligent person,
even if necessary, should not indulge in excess of
exercise, laughing, speaking, travelling, sexual
intercourse and vigilance.*' Charaka 1. 7. 27"®*.
'*A person who takes regular exercise, and
■eats after his previous meal has been digested,
and takes barley and wheat, does not suffer from
263. 5r^=C^T ^J =C^ ^""^d^r! ^^^f^^ I
ffoq|yH*i'?gJTcTT ^T^?IT cTi" ^fn=^T<i II
^ir: WW. =^2i^^r ^^f^Ti hctt^^: i
'^RTsiramfi: ^T#t ^^r^ff ^ ^T^ II
"264. aiFlTTf l^VTT^I^^'fn^^R^lT'Kr^ i
^f^fTprfq %tcT I%in5TRT»TTg?n II
THERAPEDTICS 581
over-eating, and he loses his adiposis. ^'Charaha
I. 23. 10'''.
Viirgatives and Purgation : "The best of root
purgatives is Ipomcea turpethum, of the barks —
Symplocos racemosa, of the fruits — Terminalia
chebula, of the oils — ^Ricinus communis ( castor
oil ), of the juice — Cleome pentaphylla, and of
the milky exudations — that of Euphorbige anti qu-
orum." Susruta I. 44. 2"^^
"The effectiveness of purgation is marked by
subsidence of weakness, emaciation ( loss of body
weight ), fatigue and the course of the disease,
the improvement of the heart's action, clearness
of complexion, normal appetite and thirst,
normal inclination for evacuation of feces and
urine, improvement in the sense perceptions and
265. stiramfH^ ^'BTsfi sf^ift^wTtsT^; i
266. ^re'nnT Trj^-^^ ^■^' ^fkT.'^^ \
5n?T5t fti^^wi w^^f^ '^fT^ II
582 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the mind, passage of the intestinal gas, and the
increased metabolism." Charaka I. 16. 3^*''^.
Do not sneeze before covering your mouth :
"'Without covering your mouth, do not yawn,
sneeze or laugh ( to prevent the spreading of
pathogenic germs, especially the Bacilli
tuberculosis)." Charaka I. 8. 17"''^.
Treatment against Poisoning : In the j&rst
poisoning, the patient should be made to vomit
( the poison that has been ingested by an emetic )
and then after giving cold water ( to dissolve the
poison that may be sticking to the wall of the
alimentary canal ), a detoxicant mixed with
butter and honey should be given ( to neutralize
the toxins, and to make them comparatively
innocuous by chemical combinations )" Susruta
V. 2. 25'^ ^
Treatment against venomous snake-hite :
267. ^wm ^rra4 ^if^sgf^m^fcfT ^f%: I
268, TT^'lcT^^ 5»iTt '^T^ =fl^' ^ U^^cT I
THERAPEUTICS 583
■^'If the arm or leg is bitten by a snake ( if it be
subcutaneous, the poisoning is slow, but if
intravascular, it is rapid ), a tiglit ligature should
be made about four fingers' breadth above
the wound, to prevent the poison flowing
upward ( with the. blood or lymph ) by cord,
leather-band or tree bark ( tourniquet, to com-
press tlie blood and the lymphatic vessels).
Where tight ligature is not possible, free inci-
sions should be made near the bite ( to drain out
the poisoned blood and the lymph) and the affect-
ed area cauterized (preferably by a liquid caustic,
permanganate of potash — 3 p. c. solution —
which can penetrate deep into the tissues quickly).
Suction ( by hygroscopic calcined stones which
suck the fluid with the poisonous principles ),
incision ( to drain out the poisoned blood and
the lympth ) and cauterization ( to destroy the
poisonous principles and the poisoned area ) are
always applicable ( after tight ligature ).
Susruta V. 5. 2*^°. Injection of polyvalent
antivenom serum has proved very promising.
269, imt fwwi g ^T^" altcn^tr^cwj
270. €^%Tr^ci: ^q': sii^r^^^ tf%*ii i
584j ancient HINDU MEDICINE
III. Sexual Hygiene.
Physical JIaturify • "An intelligent physi-
cian should know that man at 25 years of age
and woman at 16 attain at their ( physical )
maturity with full ( organic ) development.'*
Susrutal. 35. 9-'^
'*He who cares for longevity should not have
sexual intercourse, before he is 16 years old, or
after he is 70 ( Though a hoy at 16 has his sper-
matozoa developed and is capable of reproduction,
yet he needs to conserve and utilize the spermin
up to the age of 25 for the development of his body
and mind ; in old age, the tension of copulation
is liable to cause rupture of the calcified and
friable blood-vessels )." Charaha VI. 2. 60-^^.
271. qgfi't cTtfr ■^^ ^^\\ srncl g ^Tf^ !
272. -im" ^" qtf nT^^TfT ^hsit: qr^ t "^ i
THERAPEUTICS 58S
Tuberculosis increases sexual desire : "If
a tuberculous patient ( consumptive ) gradually
loses his strength, and his expectorations in-
crease, yet he is fond of sexual intercourse, the
disease will lead him to his death ( It is well
known that the tubercular patients become very
sexually inclined ; it is very probable that the
rich phosphorus contents of the Bacillus tuber-
culosis become liberated in the disintegration
process as a reaction of the organism, and this
circulating with the blood acts as an aphrodi-
siac, and consequently sexual erethism is one
of the most distinguished characteristics of this
disease)." CharakaYl. 3. 5^'^.
Sexual ifitercourse forbidden : "Do not
have sexual intercourse with a menstruating
woman (there seems to be a universal prejudice
against intercourse with a menstruating woman ;^
it is possible that the presence of blood has been
regarded by the primitive man as impure, or
unesthetic ; it is probable, however, that the
motive is more utilitarian, as many of the
religious observances, regulations and injunc-
tions are certainly based on principles of
273. -^^ i\^^ ^^ ^f^mT^^ ^t% i
586 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
hygiene or economic considerations ; in apparent-
ly cured and neglected old gonorrhea, the
gonococci might still live in the upper tract,
and may be dislodged with the ^ow of the
menstrual blood, and cause urethritis to the
man with whom she may have copulation,
while in other times it might remain entirely
innocuous ; a menstruating woman on her part
is rather sexually inclined during that period,
and would be much relieved of turgescence by
the embrace), with a diseased, or unclean woman
(for hygienic reasons) or with one whose vagina
is narrow (vaginismus), whose beauty does not
appeal (rouse the senses), or whose conduct is
repulsive or who is artless, homely, or one who
goes with other men (thus can be infected and
spread the disease) ; nor go with another man's
wife ; nor practise bestiality, or unnatural vices
(sodomy and pederasty)." Charaka I. 8.
ApJirodisiccc : "A pretty, youthful, well-form-
ed, charmingly attired, willing and well-educated
274. ST ^ra^T iigrt ^m'<^t f[mm ^Tf^^'i^'^Rtq^TTt *tt^
■'TMI'lt Ti^^Wt 5ii*«ire??j" IT'tl^Tr't ^wl^ ^wr^fi I
THERAPEUTICS 587
woman (wife) is the best aphrodisiac (in impo-
tence)." CharahaYll. 2. 5"'%
Impregnation : "In the (sexual) congress
of man and woman, by the nervous tension
heat (tumescence) is generated. The heat and
(vaginal) secretion provoke the discharge of the
semen, and which unites with the ovum {arttava
is a vague expression ; but it is certain that it
meant more than menstruation blood, as it
could not exist after menstrual flow ceased ;
perhaps it was an indistinct conception of the
ovule which when it becomes ripe, ruptures
the Graafian follicle in which it is enclosed and
causes menstruation). Then the united sperm
and the ovum (the fecundated ovum) reach the
uterus." Susruta III. 3. 3^'\
"As the germination (of a seed) takes place
by the combination of proper season, field,
moisture and seed, so pregnancy is developed
275, ^%^[ ^ftspT^T ?TT ^ra^^srf r^«j[f^cIT 1
276. ci^ wh"€^: ^''^^ ^\ w^<\^\^h^\'^^ i cm^^sf^-
588 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
by their proper combination ( ?'^«* = proper
season standing for the first 12 days after
menstruation ; kseh^a = field for uterus- amvu=s
moisture for ovum ; vija = seed, for sperm, i. e.
for spermatozoon)." Susrnta III. 2. 33^^'.
Heredity : "The child inherits the charac-
teristics of the parents acquired by them under
the influence of diet, behaviour and (physical and
mental) exertions, during their copulation (in
which the impregnation takes place. Though
hereditary transmission can not be explained
by such a simple formula, yet it is undeniable
that the germplasms must be under profound
impression of the physical and the mental state
of the parents in the time of fertilization. An.
irritable spermatozoon either by alcohol, or by
the morbid condition of blood, is very apt to
create the same diathesis in the offspring)."'
Susruta III. 9. 63-^\
"He who abstains from meat and wine, and
277. '^^ =ggiQT* ^Tf^^T^w; '^ifwf*^^^: i
278. ^r^?n^K=€^rfvf?TT?ai)fvi: ^^f^fft i
THERAPEUTICS 589
takes only beneficial food, and leads a pure
(bygienic) life, be and bis descendants do not
suffer from insanity." Charalza VI. 9. 63 *^^
"If a man copulates witb a menstruating
woman on tbe first day of her course, be shortens
his life, and there is embryonic abortion of the
fruit of conception ; if on the second day, there
is still-birth ; if on the third day, the child is
of incomplete development and becomes short-
bved ; but if on the fourth day, the child is well-
developed and possesses good vitality (a long life).
As a thing (floating substance) thrown in a river
can not ascend up-stream against the course
of the current, so when the menstrual blood
flows, the seed (spermatozoon) can not enter in
and become active (during the copulative act,
the forward and the backward movement,
especially of the glans-penis, acts almost like a
valve of the suction-pump, creating a kind of
vacuum state, widening the mouth of the
womb, deflating it and drawing it forward, so
that when the semen is discharged, it shoots like
a jet of spray and is sucked by the womb with
590 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the ovum ; in case the vagina is filled with
menstrual hlood or fluid, this suction can not but
be incomplete ; the vaginal secretions at the
entrance of the penis or in strong sexual desire
serve simply to lubricate the passage, so that the
delicate mucous membrane can not be hurt ).
Therefore one should not indulge in the sexual
union during the first three days of menstruation^
nor (after twelve days) in the month (in the second
week the ovum begins to degenerate, and either
it is incapable of fertilization, or if fecundated, it
is apt to reproduce a weakling )." Susruta III. 2.
31*^".
Sex-determination of the offspring : "If a male
child is desired, the husband should practise
continence for a month ( to increase sexual
erethism and vigor ), and after fattening himself
with clarified butter, milk-fat, milk and rice,
shall copulate with his wife after music, endear-
ments ( to excite the senses ) and assurance of
280. cT^ T{^ f^^ ^giiHjr v^^^r^wTrg^' g*^ «^fti » ^
Tf^flT% ^ ftsi' irf^^* 5^^T vr^fir, ^jm i?rt sif^^cr: 3t1% '^
irf^* jfftTr*T^^ ^" I'^fcT cTft^ ^^5jm \ ciB?Tfi'ST?m^ f^rm*
THERAPEUTICS 591
love to her, on the fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth or
twelfth day of menstruation, and she likewise
should have lived a continent life for a month,
fattened herself with clarified hutter and fed on
oily and nitrogenous foods.
If the conjugal duty is performed on these
days, it conduces to ( the promotion of ) wisdom,
lonsjevity, health, increase of population, wealth
and strength.
If a girl is desired , sexual union should take
place on the fifth, seventh, ninth or eleventh day.
Prom the thirteenth day ( up to the new
monthly cycle ; from the second week after
menstruation, the ovum begins to deteriorate and
is usually incapable of impregnation ) cohabita-
tion is blameworthy ( as the union is fruitless,
it is only for the sensual gratification and
indulgence, and not for the welfare of the race)".
Susruta III. 2. 28-30=^' \
592 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
Sex-determination is still speculative. It was
believed a few years ago that there were two
lands of ovum, male and female, the former
produced by the right ovary and the latter by
the left. By animal experimentation and
human ovariotomy, it has . been found to be
erroneous. The egg produced by the ovary is
still bi-sexual, hermaphroditic in nature, and its
sex is not determined like all its mono-cellular
prototypes, before it phylogenetically ascends
the scale of evolution, that is before amphimixis
is started through the process ef fertilization by
the male reproductive cell. That is the starting
point of sexual differentiation which begins with
the impregnation of the ovum. The question then
arises whether the sex determinant resides in the
spermatozoon or in the ovum. In the Hymenop-
tera an accessory chromosome has been found
in neai'ly half the spermatozoa, and it was
regarded by McClung as the sex determining
factor. It may be simply an Hdatif — bearer of
arrested hereditary trait. But the experiments of
Loeb have demonstrated that the spermatozoon,
at least in the lower scale of evolution, only acts
^s a stimulant to start the amphimixis, and it can
be substituted by artificial chemical stimulus.
And in the aphids, partbenogenetic generations
\
THERAPEUTICS 593
alternate with the sexual reproductions, yet both
the males and the females develop from the
unfertilized eggs, thus proving clearly that the
male sperms are not essential as sex-determinants
and which must therefore lie in the ovum
at the time of conception. As the females are
anabolic and the males catabolic, it has been
supposed that the anabolic condition of the ovum
at the time of the conception is apt to reproduce
the female, and the catabolic the male. On this
hypothesis, some have advanced the theory that
over-nutrition during gestation is likely to reproduce
the female. Though overnutrition is a condition
of anabolism, it is certainly a misconception to
base the conclusion that somatic behavior could
change the characteristics of the germ-cell. It
is very likely that menstruation is the process
of getting rid of the female organism of the
reproductive anabolic surplus, as periodical
nocturnal emission in man, which can be only
utilized, in case of conception, for the fetal
nutrition ; as likewise during lactation the nurs-
ing mother does not menstruate, as the anabo-
lic surplus is being transformed as an extra-
uterine nutrition for the nursing baby in the
form of milk. But anabolism is a condition of
le over-nutrition, it is only so in the dynam^'^
38
594 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINF
sense. Over-feeding the female before concep-
tion or daring gestation can not make a catabo-
lic ovum anabolic, nor can under-nutrition cliange
an anabolic ovum into catabolic. The anabolic
or the catabolic state of the ovum depends on
its internal vitality and the age of its maturity
after ovulation. So the determination of sex,
depending on so many delicate factors, as the
relative age of the mother on which depends
the vitality of the ovum, the age of the ovum
at the time of impregnation on which depends its
anabolism or catabolism, (the fourth day and
the fifth day after menstruation being catabolic,
from the fifth to eighth day anabolic, from eighth
to fifteenth catabolic and later degenerative
changes begin to take place), and the relative
asre of the father to the mother on which
depends the vitality of the spermatozoon and
which is sure in process of impregnation by its
momentum to cause molecular changes in the
ovum, can not positively with any certainty be
calculated beforehand. And to this may be
added the general anabolic and catabolic condi-
tion of health. Reed emphasizes particularly
on the point. Life having originated in the
sea as ^gymnooytoda' or 'lapocytoda^ from which
must have developed nucleated cell, the germ-
\
THERAPEUTICS 595
plasm, the primitive ancestral cell, wbicli it
closely resembles, and which in its embryonic
process of growth unfolds in quick recapitula-
tion all the stages of evolution from the simple
mono-cellular cell to the multi-cellular highly
complex and well-differentianted human being,
which must have taken in nature countless
millions of years. Our cells still must not only
live in an aquatic medium, but it must be a saline
solution (blood and the lymph) like the sea-
water. Menstruation is still regulated by the
lunar cycle, whose tides diurnal, fortnightly
and monthly (lunar month of 28 days) affected
the primitive cell-life on the sea-coast for
many millions of years, before it acclimatized
to the land habitation. Life on the sea has
been of infinitely longer duration than on the
land. Vertebrata developed in the sea, as is
represented in the fish. Menstruation is closely
related with the ovulation — the liberation of
the germ-cell which has retained all its primi-
tive ancestral characteristics and is very likely,
therefore, to be influenced by the lunar tide
cycle. It is well known that diseases pass
through crises at these lunar tidal periods,
daily, fortnightly or monthly. Accordingly, it
can be concluded that when the tide is high.
696 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE
the germ-cell is likely to be in the catabolic
tendency, being subject to the tension due to
the cell-memory, and when the tide is low, it
is in the anabolic state. The ovum impregnated
therefore during the low-tide period, if it has
not irretrievably passed into the catabolic state
due to old age of the cell or of the devitalized
condition of the parent, is likely to be a female
and during the high tide in the catabolic trend
of the germ cell, male.
Fhysical Fitness : "Copulation with a woman
with full stomach, or with one who is hungry,
thirsty, terrified, distressed, angered, or who
desires some other person during the coitus, or
suffers from nymphomania, is unproductive.
Nor should one cohabit with a female that is
too young, too old, or valetudinarian. This
is also applicable to man. Only men and
women who are free from all defects should
copulate.
Desirous of sexual embrace, mutually inclin-
ed, the husband and the wife after taking
delightful and stimulating refreshments,
shall ascend the bed, perfumed, broad and
comfortable, the husband by the right foot and
the wife by the left foot, (and praying the
gods to give them a heroic son ) they shall
THERAPEUTICS 597
engage in connubial mysteries." Gharaha V. 8.
Signs of Fregnancy : "The following are
the signs of conception : relaxation (as a pleasure-
able reaction of the coitus), lassitude, thirst,
fatigue of the tJiighs, amenorrhea, and the
engorgement of the vulva, (It is not easy to make
a certein diagnosis of pregnancy before the fetal
heart sounds are heard,or fetal movements felt in
the fifth or the sixth month. But it is claimed
that some muciparous women can fix the exact
time and the copulation that results in conception
by the intense voluptuous sensation they experience
at the time of orgasm of the coitus. Usually
281(a). cf^rsrfartTT 'ft^m fqwiftfcTT ^m f^w^i: ^^nrrf siir
^I^^f^ 5Tr«f«T^'# flW% =^f?T^Rr ^T Tift W T >ff %'!lt ^\ U^ft
ui#fT, ^f^r% ^rg^fe fT^cr: JTf?i^Tf% ^m\ c^i^rg fWfiT ^i^ig
598 ANCIENT HINDL MEDICINE
menstruation ceases after the conception takes^
place. About two weeks after conception some
women experience occasional qualm, even nausea
or vomiting, when trying to make erect posture
in the morning. Increased frequency of micturi-
tion is a very common accompaniment of early
pregnancy, due to the congestion of the vesical
trigone, coincident with the physiological
hyperemia of the uterine. The pigmentation
and the enlargement of the areola is noticed
about the sixth week of gestation, accompanied
by a tingling sensation of weight, fulness and
firmness in the breasts, greater prominence of the
nipples and the enlargement of the sebaceous
follicles, and the appearance of blue veins round
the darkened areola. Bluish circles are also ob-
served round the eyes which become a little humid
and deep-set. Digestive disturbances in many cases
are noticed and there is salivation, heartburn or
eructation accompanied by abnormal appetite or
craving for acid, charcoal or earth. On separating
the labia the vaffina is found unusuallv moist
and covered with whitish shreds of desquamated
epithelium, and the anterior vaginal wall just
under the urethra shows a dusky, purplish
pigmentation).
"The signs of pregnancy are the pigmentation
THERAPEUTICS 599
of the areola, the development of the (sebaceous)
follicles, particularly the (spasmic) contraction
of the eye-lids, nausea, vomiting, irritability
even at the pleasant smells, salivation and
lassitude ( linieae albican tes~ white streaks of
pigmentation round the navel, are sometimes
noticed in the third month of pregnancy, and
later they are observed in the breasts, lower
abdomen and flanks )." Susi'uta III. 3. lO-ll"^".
Tni<; END.
'?ff%q^if^ ^^t^^t: ^#^31^ f^wr: ii
\
Works By Chandra Chakraberty
1. Food and Health— Contents : I.~Elementary
Composition of Foods, Principles of Nutrition, The
Albuminous Foods, Vegetable Proteids, Carbohydrates,
Fats, Vegetables, Fruits, Condiments and Stimulants,
Water, Minerals, The Advantages and Disadvantages
of a Vegetable Diet. II. — The Liver, Spleen, Pancreas,
Kidney, Thyroid, Adrenals, Sexual Glands. 1 1 1. — Malaria,
Cholera, Sutica. IV. — Principles of Immunity, Immu-
nity and Serum-therapy, Organo-therapy, Fasting Cure.
Influence of Faith and Optimism. 21^ pages. Re. 1-8
"The chapters on food are well-written and they contain a
large amount of useful information regarding all kinds of
daily food. The essay on "Sexual Glands" will repay perusal.
The last five chapters on Immunity, Serum-therapy, Organo-
therapy, Fasting Cure and Psyco-therapy give useful infor-
mation within a short compass." — The Modern Review
(Sept. 1922).
"x^s an Indian he (the author) deals with the problems of
food and dietetics not only from western but also from the
estern point of view will be found useful to whom more
expensive treatises are generally inaccessible." — The Hindus-
tan Review (Oct. 1923).
"This is a useful guide to one who wants to understand the
principles of dietetics and the food value of the various articles
of diet used in this country. The author displays a fund of
information on the subject and the book contains very valu-
able materials gleaned from several sources which should serve
to help the reader, so far can be of any use, in his attempts
of fixing upon a proper dietary based upon scientific facts and
rational principles. The first part of the book deals with the
principles of nutrition, the elementary composition of foods,
the different kinds and qualities of food, and their comparative
advantages and disadvantages. The subject is so handled as
be easily understood by the lay reader and the book is written
with particular reference to Indian needs and conditions of
life." The Hindu (March 7, 1923).
"The book gives a description of the different kinds of
food articles showing their chemical , composition and their
nutritive value. The book will prove of interest to the medical
2 Susruta Sangha -. 177, Raja Dinendra Street^ Calcutta.
practitioners and tiie general public."— The Indian Medical
Journal (Sep. 1924).
2. Principles of Education — Contents : I. What
is Education, Educative Process, Recapitulation and its
significance in Education, Intelligence and Memory,
Physical Education, Intellectual Fatigue, Sexual
Education, Female Education. II. — Elementary Edu-
cation, Preparatory School, University Education,
National University, Girls' School, Foreign Universities,
112 pages. Re. 1
"In this booklet the author has sounded a note on the
problems of Education that confront the modern intellectuals.
We cannot but admire the deep insight herein displayed
in touching over a wide range of principles underlying the
oriental and occidental knowledge and instruction. The
author — Mr. Chakraberty — it seems has dived deep into the
ocean of learning and viewed with circumspection and care
\ the various phases of the so-called Western education. His
■| chapters on "Intellectual Fatigue," "Sexual Education," and
! "Female Education" are both delightful and instructive. On
"Foreign Uuniversities" he supplies information of very great
interest to Indians who may be thinking of prosecuting their
studies in Europe and America. The book is intensely .
national in its character and tone and is eminently fitted to
give a pleasurable sensation and stimulus to both male and
female readers. The whole crux of the ideals advocated in
the book lies in the adaptation, and a happy combination of
what is good and virtuous in the East and the West. For
instance, the author recommends dancing as calculated to
develop cadence of body and soul but depreciates the society
where youth, beauty and natural gifts are bartered in the name
of self-determination. An object lesson is afforded by the
allusions made here and there to heroes and heroines of
the world whose lives have left ineffacable impressions on the
sand of time. The book is worthy of being in the hands of
every educationist in this country." — The United India and
Indian States fjan. 17, 1923J.
"The theoretical and practical aspects of education are
ably and analitically treated in the book by the author. The
chapters on Girls' Education, Sexual Education, National
University are really thoughtful and deserve the attention of
the readers."— The Mahratta (Dec. 27, 1923).
Works By Chandra Chakraberiy
' J
"In this little book of fourteen chapters the author deals
with the question of education in both its theoretical and
practical aspects. He takes, a comprehensive view of the
subject and observes — "To make the best of life, not simply
in the crude sense of the enjoyment of material pleasures,
but in its broadest application, should be the aim and object
of education."— The Prabuddha Bharata (P. 315, 1923).
"This httle book is well-written. Our author's sugsies-
tions about 'Sexual Education' are worth considering. The
subject should not be ignored." — The Modem Review fDec.
3:922).
"This is a useful contribution to the educational literature."
— The Indian Review.
"The author does not follow the beaten track and in many
places challanges the orthodox methods. But he does that
with the sole object of improving his fellow beings, culturally
and physically. The book deserve well at the hands of the
Education Department."— The Indian Daily News (Sep. 5,
1923)-
3. Dyspepsia and Diabetes— Contents : — I.
Digestion, Salivary Ferments, Alimentary Absorption.
II. — Liver, Pancreas. III. — Hereditary Predisposition,
Dyspepsia. IV. — Diabetes, Polyglandular Theory, Lesion
in Pancreas in Diabetes, Treatment. 8^ pages. Re. 1
"Dyspepsia and diabetes are both very common in India
and the greatest pity is that educated men, brain-workers,
the backbone of the nation and the noblest of the race, suffer
mosdy from these in the best period in their intellectual
activities and resourcefulness. It is therefore highly necessary
and opportune to let these gentlemen know the true causes
and best preventive measure for those lethal diseases. The
booklet before us gives all the general principles, the funda-
mental facts of dietetics and the personal and social hygiene
in a clear and intelligent manner and a study of it will help in
preparing a man for his self-defence against their invasion.
All educated men will read the book with great profit and
interest."— The Practical Medicine (Oct. 1923).
"The book is written by the author for the educated
middle-class brain-workers who generally suffer from dyspep-
sia ; it deals with the prevention and treatment of Dyspepsia
and Diabetes and will prove useful to the public." — The
Indian Medical Journal (Sept. 1924).
4 SuSPUta Sangha : 177, Raja Dimndra Street^ Calcutta.
4. A Study in Hindu Social Polity— Contents : —
Physical Geography of India, Ethnic Elements in Hindi
Nationality, Hindu Myths, Hindi Languages, Hindi
Scripts, Caste, Social Organisation. 20? pages. Rs. 3-6
"The sketches of ancient cultural history of India are
interesting and valuable. The book is divided into seven
chapters and the subjects treated in them are as follows :
Physical Geography of India, Ethnic Elements in Hindi
Nationality, Hindu Myths, Hindi Languages, Hindi Scripts,
Caste, Social Organisation. This is a book which may interest
Ethnologists, Philologists, Sociologists, and students of
Comparative Religion. If is a store-house of historical
materials".— The Modern Review (July, 1924).
5. An Interpretation of Ancient Hindu Medicine —
Contents :— Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Diseases-
and their Diagnosis, Diseases and their clinical
studies, Therapeutics, Surger}-, Dietetics, Hygiene.
62^ pages. Rs. 7-8.
"The author is well known as a writer on diverse subjects,
such as Medicine, Education, Social Polity, Pohtics, Health,
Food, etc., and in the present volume of 625 pages, he has
made an attempt to place before the medical profession and
the general reader carefully selected materials for a compara-
tive study of the ancient Hindu and Greek systems of medicine
in the light of modern knowledge. His contention that the
ancient Greek Schools of Medicine were indebted to the
Hindu system deserves careful consideration and the proofs
aduced in its favour are not without foundation. The subject
matter of the book deals with different departments of
Medicine, such as Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Diagnosis
and clinical studies of diseases, Therapeutics, Surgery, Diete-
tics and Hygiene. They have been dealt with from the point
of view of cofnparative study and the author has liberally
quoted original Sanskrit texts in support of his views. He has
successfully shown that not an inconsiderable part of our
present-day knowledge of the structure and functions of the
human body and of the nature and methods of treatment of
surgical diseases were known to the ancient physicians of India.
Such knowledge, to our regret, has, to a large extent, passed
away from among the present-day practitioners of the Aurvedic
Medicine for want of study and practice, and this, more than
anything else, has brought discredit on the Hindu System of
Works By Chandra Chakraberty
Medicine which is looked down upon and often made the
subject of ridicule by the votaries of Modern Medicine,
"The study of a book like the one under review is bound to
create a feeling of reverence and admiration in the mind of
4:he Indian reader for the great Teachers of Medicine of anci-
ent India who could arrive at so much truth by the simple
process of study, observation and intuition without the aid of
modern scientific resources at their command.
"The author has done a service to his country by writing
.'this, useful book."— The Modern Review (August, 1924).
"This book deals exhaustively with the principles and
practice of Ancient Hindu Medicine and affords facilities for
a comparative study of its system with the modern medical
school of thought with a view to bring them into closer
relationship with each other. This much abused and woefully
reduced Hindu Medical Science had on account of the step-
motherly attitude of Government on the one hand, and for
want of scientific researches and experiment of the system
on the other, been left all along in the back ground, but
■^thanks to the recent renaissance, we are having quiet a crop
of literature on the subject of Ancient Hindu Medicine, for
which no little credit is due to the author of this book.
"We heartily recommend its use to those who are interes-
ted in the revival of the indigeneous system of medicine in
India and to research scholars who may find in it good food
for reflection." — The Anticeptic (March, 1924).
"The book has been published at an opportune moment
when efforts are being made for the revival of the indigenous
Hindu system of Medicine. The author has collected a mass
of infor.mation in the literature on Aurveda. We recommend
the book to those who are interested in the subject." — Indian
Medical Record (April, 1924).
"The author's original intention was to make the book a
comparative study of the ancient Hindu and Greek systems
of medicine in the light of modern knowledge, but he later
modified his purpose and has endeavoured simply to interpret
and explain the Ancient Hindu Medicine, principally based
upon Charaka and Susruta, in modern medical terminology.
He has compiled a fascinating and informative volume of 600
pages, which cannot fail to appeal to Hindu students and
others who are interested in Indian medical lore." — The
Medical Times, London, (May, ig24).
"We had the pleasure of reviewing some works of the
.learned author and are glad to say now that he is one of the
6 Susruta Sang^ha : 177, Raja Dimndra Street^ Calcutta.
great medical writers of the day. In the present book, attempt
has been made to interpret and explain the Ancient Hindu
Medicine, principally based upon Charaka and Susruta, in the
light of modern knowledge ; and though the task of transla-
tion is an ungrateful one, specially of technical subjects of
centuries back, the author has been successful in his endea-
vour to an appreciable extent. We are pleased to read his
book and have no hesitation in recommending it to all
practitioners in general and particularly to those versed in
western systems of medicine but desirous of learning of what
great men of their own country have already done." — The
Practical Medicine (Dec. 1923).
"In his "Foreward" as well as in the text the author makes
an excellent scholarly review of contemporary and correlated
historical facts and events, which is very interesting reading.
In the text he has, we see, gone very largely beyond
his premised idea, for more often than not he was described
modern advancement taking a considerable space of the book...
We congratulate the author sincerely for his great painstaking
labours. The book is specially worth perusal by all students
of history of medicine."'— The Calcutta Medical Journal
(Sept. 1924).
6. A Comparative Hindu Materia Medica — It
contains the botanical description of about more than
800 Indian medicinal plants, their Indian and European
names, their chemical analyses and their therapeutic
uses. I gS pages. Rs. 3-12
"A most erudite treatise and contains a vast amount of
information regarding Indian drugs, some of which are of
real value, though mostly unknown in this country. We
recommend this book to all those interested in Indian drugs."
—The Medical Times, London (April, 1924).
"The book describes more than 190 genera and 800
species of Indian medicinal plants in relation to their geo-
graphical distribution, morphology and therapeutic appli-
cation. It is a valuable, and is a singular book on the
subject. {^Translation). Mitteilungen zur Geschichte der
Medizin und der Naturwissenscaften, Band XXIII,
Heft 2.
"It is a valuable production — a handy volume for ready
reference for students of Botany. Those interested in the
comparative study of the subject will find it especially useful
for It gives Bengali and Hindi names of the Botanical
Works By Chandra Chakraberty
species. Indian botanists, herbists, and medical practition-
ers will find it to be a trustworthy and useful attempt on the
part of the author."— The Vedic Mag"azine (Sept, 1924).
"This book contains botanical description and therapeutic
uses of the indigenous Indian medical plants. The drugs
have been arranged alphabetically for ready reference. The
book will be useful to the Indian botanists and medical
practitioners interested in the indigenous herbs." — Indian
Medical Record (April, 1924).
"In these days when strenuous efforts are being made
to revive the indigenous systems of medicine, throughout
India, this book will prove an opportune and welcome publi-
cation. The charge is generally levelled against the Hindu
medical system that it has no Pharmacopoeia to boast of and
that the therapeutic value of most of the drugs available in
India is in the range of doubt and uncertainty. This publi-
cation will help, to a great extent, to remove that mist. The
author has taken immiense pains in compiling this work, for
which there will be neither sufficient material nor facilities
for research. We congratulate him on his successful enter-
-prise."— The Antiseptic (P. i8t, 1924).
"The book contains description of over 800 plants, alpha-
betically arranged under their native names, with their
European names, properties. The book will be useful."—
Liizac's Oriental List and Book Review (April, 1924).
7. Infant Feeding and Hygiene — Contents :—
Breast feeding, Breast-milk substitutes, The diet
after weaning, Vitamines and nutrition, Hygiene.
32 pages. As. 8
"It is an excellent account." — Medical Times, London
(April, 1924).
"The object of this pamphlet is the diffusion of knowledge
on the feeding of infants and on the hygienic methods of
their upbringing. In a country where thousands of babies die
from lack of knowledge of the simple rules of hygiene, any
book of this nature is a welcome publication, and we recommend
it to the English knowing Indian parents for whom it is
intended."— Indian Medical Record (April, 1924).
"Lack of knowledge on the part of parents, coupled with
growing poverty of the masses, is mainly responsible for the
frightfully heavy mortality among infants in India. A diffusion
of the right kind of knowledge, therefore, on the feeding of
infants and on the hygienic methods of their upbringing will
8 SuSPUta Sangha : 177, Raja Dinendra Street, Calcutta.
meet the solution of the problem of infantile mortality in our
country half way at least This booklet which treats about
infantile feeding and Hygiene fills a sad want in this direction
and written, as it is, in a clear, readable and non-technical
style will be very much appreciated by the parental public,
especially, womenfolk. We congratulate the author on his
successful propaganda work which he has aimed at, in the
matter of Child Welfare, through the medium of this nicely
got-up booklet."— The Antiseptic (March, 1924).
"Infant mortality in India is the highest of all other
countries of the world and there can be no denying the fact
that this is mostly due to the lack of right knowledge of the
parents and their inability to take proper care of their children.
The present pamphlet aims to provide them with healthy
information on some essential points to be always kept in
mind in rearing children, such as breast-feeding, substitutes
of breast milk, diet after weaning, vitamines and nutrition and
the hygienic life of the child. We hope it will prove helpful
to many parents in taking better care of their beloved ones," —
The Practical Medicine (Dec. 1933).
8. National Problems — Contents : — Introduction,
Industry, Religious Reforms, Social Reforms, Educa-
tional Reforms, Hygiene, Growth of Nationalism.
IIS P^ges. Re. 1
"Mr. Chakraberty deals with the following important
subjects in this little book: (i) Industry, (2) Religious
Reforms, (3) Social Reforms, (4) Educational Reforms, (5)
Hygiene, and (6) Growth of Nationalism.
He (Mr. Chakraberty) possesses, the wide experience
that travelling brings and that wide culture which
personal contact with advanced western nations is bound
to produce and is, therefore, entitled to a respectable hearing.
His patriotism is neither blind nor narrow; he is quite
conscious of the drawbacks of his country and is prepared
to set them right. "One ought not to think", he says,
"my countrymen first whether he is a fit man in the proper
place or not. But if my country is right I shall make her
better, but if not right, I shall make her right. Indian nation-
alism should not be a self-contained goal by itself, but a
transitional phase, that of bringing co-operation and love of
all mankind. Indian Nationalism must not be like Western
States, an agressive or self-sufficient entity, but a stepping
stone to Humanity."— Calcutta Review (Jan. 1924).
Works By Chandra Chakraberty
"His introductory survey of the present political situation
in India is by no means just to the British side, and the
political reforms that he suggests are obviously impractical. On
the other hand, he is not sparing in his criticism of the moral
and social weakness by which India is afflicted. In commen-
ting upon conditions of morals, hygiene, and education,
he has a good deal to say that will be very unpalatable to his
countrymen, and on several points he indicates the right
lines along which reform should proceed ; but he does not
show how India is to be induced to follow those lines. Edu-
cation, as he says, is urgently needed by India ; but anyone
who knows will smile when he reads Mr. Chakraberty's
statement that "for internal order, the ordinary police force is
sutificient. The enormous military expenditure ought to be
utilised for education and hygiene". In short, the book
points out some weaknesses of India, but it does not consider
them from the standpoirjt of practical administrator." — Luzac'S
Oriental List and Book Review (March, 1924).
"The author — Mr. Chandra Chakraverty has discussed
the problems necessary for National Progress and is of opinion
that the growth and progress of nationalism does not depend
merely on political activities but upon the bed-rock of Industry,
Religious, Social and Educational Reforms, combined with
hygienic principles, and that due to lack of these qualities, a
good deal of enthusiasm and sacrifice for the country has
proved fruitless. He also recommends abolition of caste
barrier and is in favour of intercaste marriage. The book is
ably written and carefully arranged and is sure to make an
interesting reading for all well-wishers of the country, who
must devote special attention to the useful suggestions made."
—The Muslim Outlook (August 10, 1924).
"Mr. Chakraverty points out that the National Progress
depends not merely on political activities but also on educa-
tion, industry, hygiene etc. The author has liberal views as
regards social questions, He favours inter-caste marriage on
eugenic principles and gradual abolition of caste and creed
barrier."— The Indian Review (May, 1924).
"In this book the author deals with the many social,
economic, industrial and educational problems of vital import-
ance to India. He has discussed them from the standpoint
of national unity and his views are thos.e of an advanced
radical thinker. Though it may not be possible to agree with
some of his views, yet they deserve careful and serious consi-
deration by all who have the good of their country at heart.
lo Susruta Sangha : 177, Raja Dinendra Street, Calcutta,
The author has been inspired by an intense sense of patriotism
to give out his views to the public and the pubHc, we hope,
will accord him a warm reception."— Amrita Bazar Patrika
(Dec. 23, 1923)-
9. Endocrine Glands— (In Health and in Disease)
Contents : — The Suprarenals, Thyroids, Parathyroids,
Hypophysis cerebri, Thymus Gland, Pineal Body, The
Pancreas, the Generative Glands (The Testes, The
Ovaries). 150 pages. Rs. 2-4
10. Malaria— Contents :— Etiology of Malaria,
Malarial Plasmodia, Mosquitoes, Infection and Incuba-
tion, The Quartan Fevers, The Tertain Fevers, The
Aestivo-autumnal Fevers, Pathology, The Complications
and Sequelae of Malaria, Diagnosis and Prognosis, The
Treatment of Malaria, Prophylaxis. 176 pages. Rs. 2
"The writer has written comprehedsively on the subject
The book will prove useful to medical students and general
public."— The Indian Medical Journal (Sept. 1924).
11. The United States of America— Contents : —
Physiography of the U. S. A., Historical Background,
Government, People, Industries, Education, Social
Organization. 208 pages. Re. 1-8
"We are not aware of any other Indian publication giving
in a concise form, such comprehensive information about the
United States. Beginning with the physiography of the
country, the writer introduces us to nature's gigantic marvels,
which impress the visitor. He then summarises the history
of the nation and has informative chapters on its Government,
people, industries, education and social organisation. These
are packed with- facts and figures. The book can be strongly
recommended as a very useful handbook about the United
States."— United India And Indian States, (nth October,
1924.)
"The volume is informative and hence useful." — Current
Thoug-ht (October, 1924).
12. Race Culture— Contents : -Racial Elemenlrs in
India, Principles of Heredity, Selection of Mate,
Birth Control, Contraceptives, Sexual Hygiene. 100
pages. Re. 1-4
"It is a well-executed piece of work and would amply repay
perusal."— The Modern Review (Sept. 1924).
Works By Chandra Chakraberty ii
"It is an excellent book and will be very useful in the
hands of all. Books of Eugenics are new in India though
old works on the same are as old as the hills. Pruriency
must be sacrificed at the alter of the welfare of the country
and safety values must be supplied. The author has lighted
the lamps of knowledge he was in possession of and though
some of his views are too advanced, yet one cannot but be
delighted to read the book from cover to cover." — Sahakar
(Sept. 1924).
Works By Swami Satyananda
13. The Origin of Christianity— Contents :— L
Historical relation between Buddhism and Christianity.
II. — The life of Jesus. III. — The Canonical Parallels.
272 pages. Rs. S
"There have been many books issued purporting to
describe the origin of Christianity. All have been more or
less interesting and useful in their way ; but there is still a
place for such a radical work as is here presented to readers of
a rationalistic turn of mind.
"Our author divides his fascinating essay into three parts
which he names : I, Historical Relation Between Buddhism
and Christianity ;II, The Life of Jesus, and, III, The Textual
Parallels.
"In the first part he discusses such questions as follows :.
The Age of the Buddhist Canons, Who were the Essenes ?
Was John the Baptist a Buddhist ? Objections to the Theory
of Christianity Borrowed from Buddhism answered, The
Egyptian Influence on the Jews, The Persian Influence on
the Jews. This learned discussion which covers some ninety
pages of this engaging book, seems to us very convincing in
its conclusions. There is not the slightest doubt of the fact
that Christianity is essentially an eclectic religion. There is
absolutely nothing original about it ; and that it borrowed very
extensively from Buddhism, is as plain as the associated fact
that it owes much to Judaism for both its theology and its
moral precepts.
"The second part, dealing with the Life of Jesus, constitutes
the unique feature of this very uncommon . treatise. The
argument covers here more than a hundred pages and is
engrossingly interesting. It is, in fact, the fullest and most
discriminating analysis of the mental and moral characteristics
of the Prophet of Nazareth that we have ever met with in a.
single volume.
1 2 Susruta Sangfha : 777, Raja Dinendra Street, Calcutta.
"He first speaks of Jesus' "Racial Heredity", in which he
considers {a) Morals of the Jews, {b) Gonorrhoea and Syphilis
among the Jews, (^) Insanity Among the Jews and (^) Jesus
and His Life. The reader will find in this part of the work
some things that may be new to him, and seemingly improb-
able ; but if he will read on carefully, he will find each
statement made by the writer verified in the Scripture textual
criticism which follows.
"The author then goes on to speak of the Physical
Constitution of Jesus, his education, his ignorance, anger and
hatred, hallucinations, incoherence of ideas, anxieties and
fears of persecution, vaso-motor derangement of Jesus, insani-
ties, trial and crucifixion, and Jesus according to the
Manuscript found by Nicholas Notovitch. He supports every
position he takes by quotations from the Bible ; and the result
is, that we have here presented one of the most critical and
well-reasoned portraits of Jesus published in modern
times.
"The third part of this attractive dissertation concerns
itself with some textual parallels between certain sayings or
circumstances reported in connection with Jesus, and like
things related concerning Gautama the Buddha. There are in
all fifty-one parallels, which virtually cover the most important
elements in the life of Jesus, Each one of these carries an
interest all its own, and gives the reader a very instructive"
insight into the essential nature of the personality of the man
whom millions of human beings look upon as the Eternal Son
of God ; and let us into the secret of their true origin.
"This work consists of 272 pages of text, apart from twenty
pages of introductory matter, including a valuable bibliography.
The bibliography is divided into five portions as follows :
{a) Jesus Christ treated as a human being, but an idealist,
{h) Jesus Christ treated critically, {c) Jesus Christ treated as
insane, id) Jesus Christ treated as myth, (<?) Relationship of
Christianity to Buddhism. There are three illustrations, one
being a photograph of a Byzantine mosaic of Jesus made in the
eleventh century. It offers a nearer approach to the likeness
of Jesus than any we have heretofore seen.
"We cannot speak too highly of this thought-provoking
book. It is rich in facts and so very entertaining that one
quickly becomes absorbed in its narrative, just as if it were a
romance with a purpose, as it undoubtedly is when made into
a reality by believers. The reader fortunate enough to obtain
a copy of this edifying book, has in prospect a real intellectual
Works. By Chandra Chakraberty 13
treat, and at a very moderate cost."— The Truth Seeker»
New York, (March i, 1924).
"The author reveals an extensive scholarship in the study
he has proposed to give us in the pages of this book. The
treatment is fairly exhaustive and in the chapter on Relation-
ship of Christianity with Buddhism he is thoroughly convincing.
The social picture of the Jews as drawn by the author is
gloomy indeed, but facts are facts and historical references
support them. The book will throw a flood of light on the
early history of Christianity and the immense debt of gratitude
that this religion owes to other systems of thought." — The
Vedie Mag-azine (Sept. 1924).
"There are three parts in the book. In the first part the
author describes the historical relation between Buddhism
and Christianity. His conclusion is "that John the Baptist was
a Buddhist and if Jesus took baptism from him, he also
became initiated thereby and converted into Buddhistic
doctrines." P. 36.
"The second book is on the "Life of Jesus." In this book
the author tries to prove that the Jews were "a coarse, vulgar
and licentious race," and Jesus was born and brought up as a
Jew. He has quoted many passages from the Bible to prove
the ignorance, anger and hatred, hallucinations, anxieties and
fearS, and insanities of Jesus.
"In the third part the author quotes many parallel passages
from the Buddhist scriptures to prove "that Christianity owed
its origin to Buddhism."
"There was a time when Christian missionaries used to
hunt after the weak points of popular religion and their
preaching meant notliing but the vilification of Hinduism.
The Christian missionaries always acted on the offensive and
the Hindus were on the defensive. But now the tables have
been turned."— The Modem Review (Dec. 1923).
"That there is an intimate relation between Buddhism and
Christianity is evident from the researches made into the
ancient documents. A striking similarity in tenets, rites and
rituals lends probability to the theory that Christianity has
borrowed extensively from Buddhism, The book "Christia-
nity" has traced the history of the early faiths and the probable
reaction of Buddhistic influence on Christianity. The author
enters upon the task in a spirit of delicious detachment that
pervades the whole work and it amply justiQes the author's
claim that it is not the outcome of any religious passion. In
detailing the growth of Christianity, it gives a vivid account of
14 Susruta Sangrha : 177^ Raja Dinendm Street, Calcutta.
the battle of conflicting faiths, the falls, fumblings and rebuffs
which Christianity had to bear in its combat against Mithraism.
Translations from the books of Apostles and utterances of
Gautama are given side by side to suggest the remarkable
agreement of sentiments. It is a profoundly interesting book —
illuminating, eleyating and thought-provoking." — The Servant
(Oct. 24, 1924.)
14. The Orig-in of the Cross
Contents : Sex-Worship in Egypt, Assyria,
Phoenicia, Syria, Armenia, Persia, Greece, Italy, India,
among the Jews, Druids, Cabbalists and Gnostics,
Serpent, Bull, Goats, Tortoise, Dove, Tree, River, Stone
and the Breast-Worship as sex-symbols. The Origin
of the Cross from the sex-symbols, 206 pages. Rs 3.
"There have been many books published of late years on
the subject of Phallic Worship. The result of these has been
that men have developed a growing sense of the fact that
the worship of the generative organs, as simbolizing the
creative power in Nature, was a rudimentary feature in all the
ancient religions, and still lingers in some of the symbols
and practices of Christianity as it is seen to-day.
"The writer of the present works deals fully with the subject
of Sex- Worship, taking as a title of his book, "The Origin of
the Cross." He divides his undertaking into seventeen chapters,
every one of which bears an attractive designation. In nine
chapters he gives this history of the primitive worship in the
best known countries of the world, and also among such
people as the Druids, Kabbalists and Gnostics.
"In the remaining chapters he considers fully the various
objects and creatures which were looked upon as sex-symbols
among the ancients, and which still allow of the same interpre-
tation even at the present time. Among these living creatures
were the serpent, the tortoise, goat, bull and dove ; and among
inanimate objects, the tree, river, stones and other objects which
became conspicuous in the symbolizing of the sex idea. This
treatment of the subject by the author leads him up to his
important conclusion that the Cross of Christianity took its rise
in the Phallic conception of what was most worshipful in the
economy of ^Nature, and how best to express it in a con-
venient form, a-s a symbol of a great truth.
"This book of 2c6 pages is, in some respects, the most
satisfactory work on the subject that we have met with in a
Works By Chandra Chakraberty 15
long time. Coming from India, and by a writer who shows
every evidence of being perfectly familiar with his subject —
familiar as one who saw daily the worship mentioned performed
before his very eyes — the work can be thoroughly relied on as
being a true exposition in every respect.
"Among the countries and the nations he treats, we would
name Egypt, Phoenicia, Persia, Greece, Italy, India, and the
people called the Jews. His chapter on the "Sex-Worship
among the Jews" is one of the most interesting and instructive
to be found in this very useful volume. Too little is known of
the history of the Jews by persons who esteemed themselves
as educated. And when it comes to a question of the Jewish
religion, the general ignorance is so striking, that it amounts
to little more than the popular knowledge of the Shinto
religion, with the secret ceremonies of which, the Crown
Prince of Japan was recently married.
"Jehovah was a tribal divinity, "a jealous deity who wanted
the monopoly of all the sacrifices made by the Jews. But the
Jews, finding the worship of other deities, as Aslarte, Baal,
Moloch, more interesting and enjoyable, often preferred them
to Jehovah ; and Jehovah would swear and curse, and brag
of his own prowess. The history of Judaism is nothing but a
continual struggle for supremacy between Jehovah, Baal,
Astarte and Moloch. There wa6 no question of monothestic
principles or doctrines involved— but one Phallic god was
trying to oust otherFtiallk: gods, \yho were encroaching upon
his own fovorite territory. "^^,c'tifc;{'^S»'
"Speaking of the Bible our author says : "There is neither
idealism in that vast literature, nor poetry, execept in Solo-
mon's song, which is entirely erotic. But let us be to the
point, so as to find out the Phallic symbolism of Jehovah and
the' nature of Sex-Worship in which the Jews indulged." He
then goes on .0 quote at considerable length some of the
numerous texts in the Old Testament which unquestionably
exhibit Jehovah as a Phallic divinity, and original Judaism as a
sexual type of worship.
"Want of space forbids a more extended review of this
excellent manual on the philosophy of sex as applied to the
so-called religious instinct. As a work dealing with religion, it
is so intensely interesting that one will desire to read it through
without a single break. It is illuminating on every page. It is
plain of speech without morbidity of thought. All the facts are
given in a clear and attractive way ; and it seems to us that the
1 6 Susruta Sangfha : 177, Raja Dinendra Street, Calcutta.
author has left nothing unsaid that would illustrate the truth
that in Phallicism, or Sex-Worship, as it was later called, are
to be found the seeds of the spirit of adoration which in recent
years developed into the religion of the Synagogue, the Church
and the Mosque
"This is a book of permanent value, and should be read by
every Freethinker."— The Truth Seeker, New York (March
8, 1924).
"The students of Mythology and believers in the common
origin of the various myths will find ample food for
thought in the present volume. The author has taken pains to
collect the material before him. He has succeeded in tracing
Sex-Worship in Egypt, Assyria, Syria, Persia, Greece, Italy
and India with a view to show parallels of thought in various
countries. He has also attempted to trace the origin of the
sex-symbols and find the origin of the Cross to be present in
these symbols."— The Vedic Magazine (Sept. 1924).
W, ^S^, "^1^, "^tW^ ^^J, ^^1 (minerals), #^^n^t€ (vita-
mines) W\, ^tR^ ^ R^TW, ^t^tC^^ ^T^^T, nf^^t^, ^^-
:^v^ I ^7^ (Bengal Fevers). ^ 2— -sqitrf^fl, ^1^-
^^, >rrf^^'^ ^, >^^tf^^ ^^, ^<^^ (Tuberculisis). bo '^
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T^f^ g— ^«T, "5^, c^:tTt^ nff^?, RTi^ ^^, RTt^ '^n^ I
Ih' I ^^^S^t'*?^^ C^i"*^ (Infectious Diseases).
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Susruta Sangha
PuBLi^ERs OF Scientific and Medical Books,
777, Raja Dine72dra Street, Calcutta.
r\
^urja^Press, .'33 Gc^ibari Lane Calcutta.
^.;,nv^ -"'•.•- ^ \
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R Chakraberty, Chandra
135 An interpretation of
C4.3 ancient Hindu medicine
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